Nick Xenophon Team

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (15:36): While some members of this house may disagree, I do not personally have a lot of bad things to say about Senator Nick Xenophon. I think that if he were to be re-elected by the people of South Australia, then that would be fair enough. I will, of course, be supporting our strong South Australian Labor team. Senator Xenophon is in a safe seat and needs only 7.7 per cent of the vote; in 2013, he achieved over three times that, so it is a pretty sure bet that he will be heading back to Canberra for six more years.

But with such a strong vote, the question becomes: who else might he take with him on his coattails? Potentially, three additional senators and several MPs in the lower house, but one thing is for certain: these people will not be clones of Nick Xenophon. They will all have their own opinions and policies, and in no way will they be able to be bound by Nick Xenophon.

We know that very well in this parliament, when Ann Bressington was elected to the Legislative Council in 2006. She was an embarrassment to this parliament and to Senator Xenophon, promoting bizarre conspiracy theories and waging war with Senator Xenophon himself over election funding. So, I believe it is important that all candidates running under the Nick Xenophon banner are exposed to the type of scrutiny they would receive if they were running for a major political party.

The Nick Xenophon candidate in my local area is Mr Damian Carey. Mr Carey describes himself as a 'Doctor of Chinese Medicine' and a 'self-taught massage therapist'. Damian Carey has self-published an unscientific paper, not peer-reviewed, in which he asserts that genital acupuncture can cure infertility. In his paper, he dismisses IVF and encourages Chinese medicine, including methods like acupuncture of the perineum as the 'first choice for infertility treatment'. Highlights of the paper include:

Chinese Medicine (CM) appears to have a better record than Western Medicine (WM) in treatment of unexplained infertility…

…the use of Huiyin (CV 1), situated in the perineum, between the anus and vagina…is rarely used due to the invasion of personal modesty, yet it is a potent point with clear relevance to this case, having the functions of regulating the Chong and Ren vessels, regulating Yin and calming the spirit…

…careful use of draping to minimise exposure is also highly recommended.

His paper also questions the science behind IVF or, as it is otherwise known, ART. He says that a:

…broader dilemma exists in ART's ability to artificially override the normal physiological filtering of unhealthy gametes, leading to the potential for generations of sub-healthy ART children to be born.

For this outrageous smear, I believe Mr Carey owes an apology to all the parents who have given birth to children through IVF.

Damian Carey openly condones the antivaccination movement. When asked by The Australian if he empathised with the antivaccination movement, Mr Carey said, 'I hear the arguments and they sound reasoned.' His attitude encourages the pseudo-science behind the antivaccination movement that puts our children at risk. Mr Carey wrote to the Chinese Medicine Board complaining that he did not have the appropriate qualifications for registration and therefore he should not have to provide evidence for the treatment of his clients. He said:

…with regard to the grandfathering of practitioners such as myself who do not have qualifications equivalent to current standards…I shall have to provide de-identified client record notes of twenty clients…Such a proposition is ludicrous, physically, logically and ethically.

Frankly, I believe that Damian Carey is a quack, a snake-oil salesman. He is peddling unscientific nonsense on vulnerable people in their time of need. He is anti IVF, anti vaccination, pro acupuncture on the perineum, anti tough standards for health professionals.

I believe it would be dangerous for Mr Carey to take his quackery to our federal parliament, potentially playing a crucial role in a hung parliament. It is very scary that Mr Carey could have an influence over national vaccination programs, over medical research programs, over medical payments for unscientific treatments, or over our school curriculum.

In this election, there is a risk that voters may suspect that they are supporting Senator Xenophon's election in the lower house not realising they are supporting the likes of Mr Carey. I call on Senator Xenophon to disendorse Mr Carey from the Nick Xenophon Team. I encourage all South Australians to consider the individual candidates in the local area very carefully and avoid letting into parliament the type of quackery promoted by Mr Carey.

The SPEAKER: Can the member for Mount Gambier match that?