Even the Federal Member for Page (whose electorate covers part of the Clarence Valley where The Daily Examiner is situated) disagrees with that newspaper's über conservative journalist, Graham Orams, on occasion and went so far as to write this letter to the editor published on 21 December 2010:
Supporting patches
I DISAGREE with Graham Oram's editorial (DEX, December 12) critical of the Federal Government making nicotine patches available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. I actively lobbied for this to happen.
My disagreement is based on the primary principle that health care must be made available without discrimination.
If we start to ration it based on blame, where does that lead? Do we say you have to pay if your illness or injury is self-inflicted, through smoking, drinking, over eating, abuse of legal and illegal drugs, dangerous sports, driving too fast etc?
Public policy should be directed to a number of things and the primary aim is about service and helping people, and should be done on the basis of being effective. In health policy the government promotes healthy behaviours as well as providing treatments.
Nicotine patches are effective.
If someone wants to use them, they are well on the way to giving up smoking.
Let us support them.
JANELLE SAFFIN,
Member for Page
Background:
Australian journalism continues to attract blinkered conservatives into its ranks
Is there an annual award for foot-in-mouth journalism?Now who has been loose with the facts in the Clarence Valley rate debate??
One of the Clarence Valley's resident "opinionated jerks" is at it again
The Battle of the Rates continues in The Daily Examiner as Orams gets trounced
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