Page 4632 - Week 15 - Thursday, 21 November 1991
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This Bill contains amendments which will complement the introduction of a high-tech automatic breathalyser instrument known as a Drager Alcotest 7110. This breathalyser enables the police to carry out breath analysis in a more efficient and cost-effective manner than the instruments that are currently in use. The Drager Alcotest 7110 is in use in several jurisdictions, particularly New South Wales. Hence, the Australian Federal Police, responsible for policing in this Territory, will benefit from the research and ongoing development carried out by the New South Wales police force.
The Bill removes the need to have each breathalyser instrument approved by the Minister individually as at present. Instead, it enables the Minister to approve breathalyser instruments by type through gazettal notice. This will reduce the delay and paperwork involved in having an instrument approved individually.
The Drager Alcotest 7110 is preprogrammed to follow a set procedure. Each stage in the operation of the instrument must be completed successfully. If a person is unable to supply a steady stream of breath in an uninterrupted manner, the instrument will stop the procedure. There is at present an ambiguity in the legislation as to whether a police officer could in such circumstances make a second and further request to a person to supply samples of breath where the person has not followed the procedure by unintentionally interrupting his or her flow of breath. The Bill seeks to remove this ambiguity and to enable a breathalyser operator to request a test subject to provide samples of his or her breath sufficient for carrying out a breath analysis.
At present the Act requires the police to take steps to ensure that it is not readily apparent to members of the public that the test is being carried out. That is why they are usually done in the back of the van. This creates certain difficulties for the police, particularly when the test is carried out at a police station. The test subjects are in police custody, as any other offenders would be, and the police practice is to observe the test subjects for 15 minutes before testing, so that nothing is consumed which might interfere with the test, such as Ventolin or cough lollies, and to allow time for any alcohol present in the mouth to disappear before testing.
Therefore, another procedural reform will remove the requirement to ensure that the tests are not readily apparent to members of the public in cases where the tests are carried out at police stations. This will enable the police to carry out the tests in the same room where other test subjects are under observation.
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