Mr GRIFFIN (10:08 PM) —I will be brief in my comments tonight because I am happy to assist in the operation of the chamber in order to ensure this matter can be resolved before stumps. I would like to apprise the Main Committee of an issue that I have raised once or twice before in the last couple of weeks regarding the budget, and that is a group called the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group that was established in June last year. In fact, it had its first meeting a year ago tomorrow, 23 June 1998. So we can say `Happy anniversary' to the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group. However, that is its one and only meeting. It is due to meet again in a week, just after its anniversary. I think this says something about this government's commitment to industry development in an industry as crucial as pharmaceuticals. I would like to quote from a couple of documents on this matter. The annual report of 1997-98 of the Department of Industry, Science and Tourism says:

In June 1998, the Department established a new Government-Industry forum, the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group, which was welcomed by the pharmaceutical industry. With a focus on investment and growth in the industry, the working group is a joint initiative of the Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism, the Hon.John Moore, MP, and the Minister for Health, the Hon. Dr Michael Wooldridge, MP.

The Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association annual report of the same year says, regarding this particular initiative:

This group met for the first time on 23 June 1998 at Parliament House, Canberra. Chaired by the Governments Strategic Investment Coordinator Bob Mansfield, the Working Group reports directly to the Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism, the Hon John Moore, and the Minister for Health and Family Services, the Hon Dr Michael Wooldridge.

It does report—well, that is what it is supposed to do—but it really has not reported much at all. When this matter was raised in Senate estimates a few days ago it was said by departmental representatives that this committee was considered to be very important. But when the issue of when it met and how often it had met was raised, the point was made that it is only supposed to meet about twice a year but, of course, there was an election. There was an election in October last year, about three to four months after the first meeting of this committee. There has not been an election since then that I am aware of, but still there has been no meeting.

In the discussion on the merits of this particular initiative, it was said by the department representative that in fact some important work had been done—there had been a report produced on the question of investment opportunities, and that report was as a result, if you like, of the work of the PIWG. However, with a bit of checking what we found was this: the actual report that was being talked about, which was produced by the APMA and which was entitled Pharmaceuticals and Australia's knowledge economy; Australia's pharmaceutical industry—a report—a very sound, very detailed and very good report—was in fact commissioned in May 1998, and that is an important date. It was in fact commissioned a month before the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group ever met. So if it was as a result of the PIWG, that is pretty amazing. An enormous amount of foresight was shown there to be able to decide to achieve something prior to the first meeting of the group that was supposed to have ordered it.

I will leave it at that, other than to say that this particular initiative and its follow-up meeting, now some 12 months and one week after its first and only meeting, will hopefully be a very important development in the ongoing work of developing this industry as an important part of the pharmaceutical developments that can occur in this country. I commend that issue to the government and urge their action on it.