Page 4570 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 20 November 1991
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MS MAHER: Yes, it was. You were sitting there laughing. It is good to see that they have gone back on their behaviour and have come up with a worthwhile paper. They are actually going to do something worthwhile for the community. Alcohol is a major problem requiring more than the campaigns they are presenting here. We need services for alcohol affected young people. We need treatment programs for adolescents. We also need to recognise those children who live with families who are alcohol affected people and the effect it has on them. They need support.
Certainly, it is good to see that there will be education campaigns and that the survey is going to be coming out soon. We were hoping to have some information from this survey so that we could incorporate it into our report on behavioural disturbance among young people. Unfortunately, we will not have those figures and statistics for our report. Certainly, it is an area that we have been looking at and it is a major area of concern in the ACT.
MR MOORE, by leave: I think the best summary of the situation is on page 5 of the statement, where it says:
No single program can effectively impact on the problems of alcohol abuse amongst youth.
That applies, I think, to the use of all drugs right across the spectrum. There is no single solution in dealing with a whole range of drugs, whether they are legal or illegal. Certainly, there is a great difficulty with drug abuse and I am very pleased to see that some action is being taken. I feel, though, that there is a great deal of room for our next Assembly to look at alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and to continually monitor what are the best ways to resolve problems.
I think, Mr Speaker, it is very important that we do not take a black-and-white view and say that the easiest way to resolve a problem is simply to stomp on it and ban it. We know that that has not worked. I see Mr Stefaniak looking at me; that is not meant to be an implication for his Bill. It is a matter we will discuss later in connection with that Bill. Mr Stefaniak is dealing with a particular area and I do not make that comment in that context at all. But it is an issue that we need to deal with. We dealt with the issue of advertising of tobacco, and the advertising of alcohol is another area we are going to have to look at.
MR JENSEN, by leave: Mr Speaker, I am pleased to see that the Government at least acknowledges that there is a problem in relation to alcohol in the ACT. I do not think anyone would suggest otherwise. This city, despite some of the suggestions to the contrary, unfortunately has most of the problems that other cities, towns and communities in Australia have. It is appropriate to acknowledge that there is a problem.
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