Dr Kerryn Phelps, AMA President, Channel 9 Today

PHELPS: Good morning, Steve.

LIEBMANN: The Minister has said he was very happy with the outcome of the meeting and feels this is a first step towards resolving the dispute he has with you. What's your opinion?

PHELPS: Well, I think we'd have to agree, and that's a very good sign, right from the outset. We both, I think, felt that the Prime Minister's intervention was an appropriate and necessary thing, at this time. And the AMA looks forward to having a constructive relationship with the Government from this point.

LIEBMANN: Would the meeting have taken place had the Prime Minister not intervened?

PHELPS: No, I don't think so. I think the Prime Minister's intervention was necessary because the AMA had been progressively frozen out of all discussions with the Department of Health on implementation of health policy, and that, really, just wasn't a good thing for health policy in Australia, because doctors are the people who sit with their patients, in their rooms, who look after them in a hospital setting, and know where the problems are, and are able to bring those problems through the AMA to the Government.

LIEBMANN: So, has a truce been brokered?

PHELPS: I think you could say there's a very important first step towards a truce. The Prime Minister acknowledged that the AMA will not always agree with government and wouldn't expect us to always agree with government but, I think, that you can move closer to a position where you do agree on a large number of issues, provided that we're consulted first, and we can give input that is constructive and that is realistic, depending on what's actually happening in the system.

LIEBMANN: But can a truce be truly brokered? Can a meaningful working relationship be resumed between the AMA, you, as its Federal President, and the Minister, Dr Wooldridge, if the Minister does not apologise for publicly questioning your medical qualifications?

PHELPS: I think they can be two separate issues, and the AMA is keen to move forward in a constructive dialogue with the Government and in working together on health policy. But the Prime Minister made it clear that those two were separate issues - that is the issue of the apology for the alleged defamation and the issue of the AMA's working relationship with government - and I think that one of the problems with the comments that were made by Dr Wooldridge some weeks ago was that GPs have felt trivialised for a long time and that our work is not regarded as highly as that of other medical specialists.

LIEBMANN: But you took his comments, personally. He still says he doesn't feel inclined to apologise. Now, here we have two adults - you, the leader of the medical profession of Australia, he's the minister of the health department - the two of you can't come together if he is refusing to apologise to you.

PHELPS: I can get past that, and I know that the AMA Executive can, in order to do what is best for the health system. It is a separate issue. I had a meeting with the AMA Executive last night after the Prime Minister's meeting, and there was very clear resolve that we would get on with the job of working with the Minister and the Health Department and other members of government, as necessary. But the issue of the comments made by the Minister and our request for an apology will remain standing because we feel that we owe that to the general practitioners of this country.

LIEBMANN: For the sake of health policy, and we're talking here about a budget of $750 million or more, why can't you, as two adults, say, 'Okay, you shouldn't have said it'. He says, 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it' - go your ways.

PHELPS: That would be ideal. And that's certainly the way we would like to see things progress.

LIEBMANN: Will there be further meetings with the Minister?

PHELPS: Well, there must be because if we're going to progress health policy, the President of the AMA and our associated officers will have to meet with the Minister for Health and his department.

LIEBMANN: But does the Prime Minister have to be there every time?

PHELPS: I don't think so. I think we can probably manage to be grown-ups and to get on together. The AMA has always sought constructive work with the Government, and it has become increasingly difficult because, as we've criticised things with government and with the Health Minister, the Minister has progressively frozen the AMA out of those discussions. I think that this has been a very important circuit breaker, and I think that it will actually change the flavour of meetings of the future.

LIEBMANN: Okay. Thanks for joining us.

PHELPS: Thank you, Steve.

LIEBMANN: AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps. Dr Wooldridge, incidentally, declined our invitation to appear on the program, this morning, but a spokesman for the Minister told the Today program that the Minister said the meeting with Dr Phelps had been a private one, and he didn't feel it necessary to comment.

Ends