Page 575 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 May 1992
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or because, in the opinion of others, it would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for persuading him, but not for compelling him.
I have always been a firm believer in education, not legislation. We do not necessarily all benefit in our lives from the three million rules and regulations and Acts and amendments that we have had since Federation.
Mr Humphries: We do here. We make them. It gives us something to do.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Humphries says, "We do here. We make them. It gives us something to do". I will not comment. So, the question, quite rightly, is: Where do we draw the line with legislation? This is the key with censorship as well. Where do we draw the line? I think we should really draw the line in the area of harm to others. With the wearing of pushbike helmets, it cannot be said, logically, that there is a potential for harm to be caused to others.
One difficulty that has been brought up to us again and again is that riding along Northbourne Avenue at peak hour may be a lot more dangerous than riding in one's local park, particularly when, as with most parks in Canberra, they are very well manicured and there are not too many potholes to hit and fall over on. What it really comes down to is whether or not individuals have the right to decide for themselves what they will do in their own lives.
If we take that away from them, what are the repercussions? What are we going to see in the long term? There is every right along this line of protecting people, as Mr Humphries debated, of telling people how much cream they will have. But I suggest that there are a lot of things within one's diet that are going to cause more problems than cream. You could well say that the average diet is not necessarily too good for people. When we look at the billions of dollars spent on health care in Australia, it does suggest that there is something we are doing that is probably not all that good, or not doing that we should be doing. One of the suggestions would be to get out and ride pushbikes, which brings us back to the problem that some people, unfortunately, will not ride pushbikes if they are compelled to wear a helmet.
There are different reasons for this. With some people, it is simply a matter of principle. They simply refuse to be told to wear a pushbike helmet. With others, it is some feeling they have of freedom, depending on how fast they can pedal, with the wind blowing through their hair and the joy of riding a pushbike. How I will - - -
Mr De Domenico: Do you support seat belts?
MR STEVENSON: Seat belts support people. Seat belts support me and other people. Let us look at some surveys that we did in March last year.
Mr De Domenico: Who is "we"?
MR STEVENSON: The Abolish Self Government Coalition, Mr De Domenico. We asked the question: Do you agree with pushbike helmets being made compulsory? Fifty-two per cent, to round it off, said yes; 43 per cent said no; and 5 per cent said that they were unsure. From a survey we did in the Chronicle recently, about a month ago, we had 48 replies, and 83 per cent said no and 17 per cent said yes. I realise that there are many people who are particularly concerned
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