Page 4795 - Week 16 - Monday, 25 November 1991
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The committee looked at the problems in relation to areas around licensed premises, especially a couple of locations in the ACT where people would continue drinking once they had left those premises. That was seen as a major problem. Mr Berry also raised the issue of education programs within our schools. Certainly, there is a need for education programs on the problem of alcohol and changing community attitudes. But it will be quite a while before those attitude changes come through. This legislation allows for immediate action to make the ACT a safer place for people to walk around in. I will be supporting the legislation and the amendments Mr Stefaniak will be putting forward.
MR STEFANIAK (12.32), in reply: I thank members very much for their comments. I am pleased that all members of this Assembly except Labor Party members will be supporting this very commonsense piece of legislation. I commend them for their commonsense and their intelligence. I think it is absolutely obvious how important this legislation is. Last Monday I was asked to go on an ABC talkback program, which I was delighted to do, in relation to the question of dry areas. The funny thing about these talkback programs is that you often get very familiar voices ringing up and expressing concern. It seems to be fair game for a number of political groups. I suppose I have heard familiar Liberal voices as well as familiar Labor voices on some of those shows. It was interesting that in the move-on debate there was a similar phone-in, and there was only one person supporting that. There were six or seven people supporting the Labor line there.
I was fascinated, in this talkback show I went on, that four people rang up and were all very much in favour of the dry areas Bill. In fact, many wanted the law to go a hell of a lot further; they wanted additional laws to combat liquor abuse. It seems that this Bill is probably even more popular in the community than the very popular move-on Bill. That is indicated by the very sensible attitude taken by all members today, with the unfortunate exception of the Australian Labor Party.
I should like to deal with a few points Mr Connolly raised. I remind Mr Connolly that there is similar legislation in other States, including his own State of South Australia - legislation that the South Australian Government, which is a Labor Government, has no problems with. In fact, in the course of the last year, they have extended their legislation to introduce a few more dry areas. Various New South Wales councils are introducing similar dry areas. Mittagong has done so, and I believe that the Queanbeyan Council is looking at it as well.
Mr Jensen made some very valid comments, especially in relation to the people who use our bus interchanges - the young and the old, people who are defenceless, who feel intimidated by, as Mr Kaine quite rightly put it, drunken louts hanging around those bus interchanges. These are the
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