Page 3159 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 11 September 1991
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something like that they can take out a permit to sell drink. Also, if there is an establishment there which has tables and chairs and a beer garden, it is not going to be precluded from going about its lawful activities.
A prescribed public place also is an area "declared by the regulations to be a public place to which this section applies". Basically, that is to enable any government of the day to declare any other problem places dry areas. We have a couple of specific dry areas in this Bill, which are basically bus interchanges and around the shops. But from time to time other areas may become real problem areas. I would hope that any government of the day would take the advice of its police force - again, taking the advice of experts; that is what they are there for and we should take their advice. They are the ones who see the problems on the street. They know a hell of a lot more about what is going on than people in this Assembly, although that is probably not saying much.
At any rate, that provision is to enable the government of the day, if it perceives a problem in a certain area which is not covered by this legislation, to declare that particular place a dry area. Obviously, if the problem goes away after a particular period of time, that could be deregulated. The regulations can be changed accordingly, because I am not attempting to restrict people drinking anywhere in Canberra or going back to the formal legal situation of the 1960s and early 1970s, which was never strictly enforced, for obvious reasons, by the police because we do have, and always have had, a very good and practical police force.
However, this is to address the problem areas which numerous police reports have identified. I would hope that Mr Connolly, as Attorney-General, now has access to them. This Bill is to ban the consumption of alcohol in those areas where members of the general public are constantly worried about activity resulting from such consumption. Basically, that is what this particular Bill does. It is commonsense. It is legislation which the people of Canberra want to see enacted.
I recall floating this issue - again, while the Alliance was still in government, in about April 1991 - with a particular TV journalist. We did that at the Woden bus interchange. That journalist was particularly keen to try to find a mixed view and get someone from the crowd to say, "No; what is wrong with drinking at the bus interchange?". She had great difficulty and, in fact, seemed to be frustrated that every person she spoke to was very much in favour of seeing the consumption of liquor banned at that bus interchange. Little wonder. Go and ask the shopkeepers of Garema Place, as well. Go and ask the ordinary men and women of Canberra who use our bus services.
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