Page 4759 - Week 16 - Wednesday, 28 November 1990
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of the concern that arises here and the concern that has been expressed by members of this house has to do with young people and the way we control the use and attempt to restrict the use of liquor by young people. At the same time, young people are bombarded with advertising that is specifically directed at them and is specifically directed at getting them to consume more alcohol.
One of the issues that it is appropriate for us to tackle - I hope in the same bipartisan fashion as we have approached this liquor Bill - is the concentration on young people of the advertising effort of breweries and large liquor companies. This Assembly has already looked carefully, successfully and in a bipartisan fashion at the issue with regard to tobacco and I think it is most important that this issue be dealt with as well by this Assembly.
There is no point in trying to regulate the issue of alcohol by using the big stick while at the same time the message from the marketing agent about the great attraction of alcohol and how it can improve lifestyle gets through to young people. That is exactly what is happening. Young people are seeing the use of alcohol as a means of improving their life and will continue to do so while this goes on. This is even more obvious as we go through more difficult economic times. The more difficult times we go through, the less of the good life, as it is presented, is available to our young people. As they perceive less of the good life, it will appear to be, through the marketing strategies, an easy way to go to - - -
Mr Humphries: Have you got Dubyitis?
MR MOORE: Certainly not. It is easy to opt out and use this particular drug as their method of dealing with some of their difficulties as they see them and some of the high life of society as presented through television advertising and through advertising in many other media. I think it is a very important and significant issue for us to tackle and we should make sure that we are not trying to use just one method of dealing with it, the big stick method. We should also have the guts to say that the advertising is inappropriate and should look very carefully at how young people are affected by that advertising.
More specifically, Mr Deputy Speaker, I always have some concerns about legislation that operates in any way in a retrospective manner. The notion that somebody could be acting according to the law now and then in a short time find that a parliament has made that action illegal is inappropriate. I believe that attention has been drawn to clause 70 by Mr Connolly. I think it is most important that we have a clear response from the Attorney-General on that transitional provision. He should assure us that he is prepared to move an amendment about retrospectivity or that the retrospectivity of this legislation will not apply.
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