PM Transcripts

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PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA 13 February 1985
The Federal Government's substantial package of offers to the
New South Wales medical profession to end the long-running
doctors' dispute will remain open.
If the leaders of the dispute advise their members to return
to work, the Federal and New South Wales Governments will
immediately undertake direct negotiations on the details and
implementation of the offer.
The Government has sought to meet all the reasonable concerns
of the profession with constructive and specific undertakings,
conditional only upon the Australian Medical Association
advising doctors to resume normal duties.
Both Governments have undertaken exhaustive and objective
discussions with the medical profession in order to settle the
dispute. All we have asked in return is that they recommend a return to
work and get back to the sadly neglected business of caring
for their patients.
Those specific undertakings and commitments made by myself and
the New South Wales Premier remain open.
I strongly urge the medical profession to accept the offer,
return to normal duties, and allow the Government peace offer
to be implemented. There cannot be any implementation of the
Government offers and there cannot be any negotiations on the
finer details of proposals until there has been a call for a
return to work.
If the doctors decide to go through with their resignations and
desert their patients, then they must expect the Government to
take decisive action to maintain public hospitals for the people
of New South Wales.
Neither the Federal nor New South Wales Governments can tolerate
for much longer the current situation of the NSW doctors holding
the public to ransom.
I hope that good sense will prevail and the doctors will realise
that only through a negotiated settlement can we serve the best
interests of everyone concerned and most importantly the patients.
If the resigned doctors do walk out of the public hospital system,
then my Government stands ready to support the New South Wales
Government to ensure the maintenance of those hospital services.