Page 1600 - Week 08 - Thursday, 28 September 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
(6) the foregoing provisions of the resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.
It is very important for members of this Assembly to realise that one of the great challenges of our society at the moment is to deal with the potential of an AIDS epidemic. AIDS has challenged many of our current views and will continue to do so until we find a way to control it. It has an incredible impact upon our lives; it questions even our level of compassion; and the media, in particular, recently have looked at many examples of where, with this particular disease, we have become rather an uncompassionate society.
As a legislative body, we have a responsibility to do what we can to avoid an epidemic. We have to be very careful that we do not select certain scapegoats. Let me draw your attention to a previous example. In the Middle Ages, when the favourite scapegoats were witches, one of the animals most associated with witches was the cat. Some historians argue that the association of the cats and the elimination of the cats left the way open for breeding of rats, which led in turn to the incredible epidemics of the black plagues which decimated a third of Europe. We must be sure we avoid treating AIDS as a scapegoat and winding up in the same boat.
I would propose that in looking at AIDS this proposed committee should not attempt to rediscover the wheel. There has been a tremendous amount of in-depth work done on AIDS, and we should look to that. We should ensure that we understand the factors on how AIDS is linked with prostitution and with drugs. We are all aware that prostitution does exist in Canberra, and we should be aware that prostitution is often, as I understand it, linked with drugs because it is a method of raising money in order to buy drugs, particularly for intravenous drug users. Hence there is the link with AIDS, and as a sexually transmitted disease the link becomes even more significant.
What we have to discover is just what is the AIDS distribution network. I think it will be incumbent upon this committee to find what sort of proportion of our society is involved and what sort of proportion forms that network which could increase the epidemic. With reference to illegal drugs, we do know that the war on drugs has been entirely unsuccessful. At the moment a third of all justice funding in America is spent on control of illegal drugs. If that situation were to arise in Australia, as it has in America, it would cost us billions of dollars and we would still achieve absolutely nothing. In fact, the evidence that it is failing is that the use of illegal drugs is actually on the increase. So what is happening is it is working less and costing more. Some proponents would say, "Okay, let us go out and legalise all drugs". That is simply not acceptable, nor do I expect it will ever be
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .