Page 3897 - Week 13 - Thursday, 17 October 1991
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year. It is an entirely appropriate method of putting the onus back on the government when any member believes that there is a good reason for disallowing a decision of a Minister, and that is what this is.
For the purposes of background, I am going to quote from a speech delivered in this house in 1989 which talked about tobacco. In fact, it was delivered on World No Tobacco Day, whose theme was "Women and Tobacco". It is important to get a feeling of what tobacco does, and that is why I refer to this speech. It said in part:
At least 23,000 avoidable premature deaths occur annually in Australia because of tobacco use. This makes smoking and its effects the leading cause of premature death and the major single cause of preventable illness and disease in Australia. I am sure members will agree that this is a staggering figure. In its local perspective, it equates to 368 deaths per year in the ACT - one death per day. This is an unacceptable situation and it is the responsibility of the ACT Government and the community at large to reassess the place of tobacco in our society.
The speech went on to talk about an increasing number of young women taking up smoking and taking it up at an earlier age. Later it said:
Health risks to young women extend well beyond the now commonly known risks of lung cancer, emphysema, stroke, chronic bronchitis, gangrene and heart attack ... Women who smoke are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis ... Women who smoke are more likely to develop cancer of the cervix -
and so it went on. The person making this speech pointed out:
Already the annual cost to the Australian economy is estimated to be in excess of $2.5 billion.
When we come to debate the amount of money involved in this sponsorship, we should keep in mind that the cost to Australia is $2.5 billion a year. Mr Berry, in making this speech in 1989, said:
I have already publicly stated this Government's commitment to review legislation ... and to establish policy on tobacco advertising, promotion, sales and pricing in the ACT. These reviews will take particular note of recent developments in Victoria and South Australia.
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