Page 779 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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This fits in with New South Wales practice which does not favour deposit legislation. It would be costly and ineffective for the ACT to enact legislation unilaterally on such an issue.
There are also constraints on the effectiveness of unilateral action to prohibit alcohol advertising. Alcohol advertising appears in the national media, and local dissemination in newspapers, magazines or on television cannot be controlled by the ACT Government acting alone. The Government will, however, be raising the matter with the Commonwealth and State Health Ministers in the context of the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy. In the meantime the measures that the Board of Health has in hand to encourage young people not to drink are an essential part of a long-term program to achieve attitudinal changes on this aspect.
In terms of support services, a 24-hour mental health crisis service was recently established in the Australian Capital Territory and this will go some way towards helping alleviate the needs of emotionally disturbed people. There has also been a comprehensive review of mental health services, the report of which is currently with the community for comment.
The Conflict Resolution Service has been funded to set up an adolescent mediation centre and there is also an adolescent day clinic being established to assist 12- to 16-year-olds experiencing severe behavioural or emotional problems. In addition, the Street Link program will address the interlinked causes of unemployment, homelessness and offending behaviour.
In order to develop police confidence in dealing with young people, using a non-confrontationist approach, an Australian Federal Police community liaison group now meets regularly with ACT youth workers to exchange information, to explore common goals and methods of cooperation. The current training program for the ACT police component of the Australian Federal Police also focuses on community policing.
Furthermore, the Government is establishing a community police advisory committee to help in this matter. The Social Policy Committee and the National Committee on Violence both focused on the reasons why violence and unacceptable public behaviour are increasing in our society. It is clear that we need to address the reasons for this adverse change, and in this context I am pleased to note initiatives taken by the Housing and Community Services Bureau and the Ministry for Health, Education and the Arts.
The Government, of course, has supported the Assembly's standing committee inquiry into the needs of behaviourally disturbed young people. These measures and the findings of this inquiry will enable the Government to further address
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