Page 2961 - Week 11 - Thursday, 22 October 1992
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I congratulate the Government on this Bill, which I feel will simplify the process of testing and prosecuting drink-driving offenders. I also congratulate the Government for taking the opportunity to remove sexist language from the Act. It is important that Canberra's policewomen receive recognition of their status in the legislation that they enforce. We cannot continue to have legislation refer to he, him and his when the officer enforcing the law is a she. It erroneously conveys the impression that women are auxiliary, not real, police. I encourage the Government to continue to be proactive in this area, progressively bringing all legislation into line by the removal of sexist language. Madam Speaker, I commend this Bill to the Assembly.
MR MOORE (6.03): Madam Speaker, in standing to support this Bill, which will allow the police to use the Drager Alcotest 7110 machine, I feel moved to speak a little anecdotally, having been very fortunate, with the Drugs Committee, to spend an evening with the police relatively recently. I had finished a dinner at home with guests and was taken into the current breath testing section. Although I had not been driving, I thought it would be interesting and asked would they mind showing us how the test worked, using me as a sample. The method used was really quite cumbersome and time consuming. It required the setting up of a machine and a series of motions that took something in the order of 15 minutes. Had I realised that I was going to use so much of an officer's time, I would not have made the request. After that was completed we walked into the other room and had a look at one of the new machines. I did not make the same request this time, because it had taken so long to do the previous test; but my understanding is that it is a much more efficient system and the testing will be done very quickly.
It is with pleasure that I support this Bill. It is another way of making the police force more efficient; it will be less frustrating for police officers, and the result not only will be accurate but also will be available immediately as a print-out. It is a very worthwhile exercise. For the interest of members, it was nearly two hours after I had had a single scotch, which I am a little partial to.
Mrs Grassby: That is your story.
MR MOORE: It is my drug of choice, when I have a choice. At that point, Madam Speaker, I still had a reading of .02, which indicates the effect of alcohol, and how it does stay in the blood, and how careful any person needs to be when they are involved with drinking and driving.
MRS GRASSBY (6.05): Madam Speaker, I too want to congratulate the Government for bringing this in. I think it is a very important line. When I was in the States recently, looking at legal and illegal drugs, I asked them about their booze buses. They did not know that they were called booze buses, but they said that they were going to use that name. The fascinating thing about it was that they have to advertise where it is going to be, under the constitutional law. That means, of course, that all you have to do is read the paper in the morning about where the booze bus is going to be and make sure that you do not go down that street. It is a very sad way to do things.
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