Page 1249 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 1993
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I ask the question, Madam Speaker: Do members of this Assembly really want to sanction the pub fights regularly organised in the ACT? These pit fights, as they are called, take place without proper ring facilities, without any medical checks or medical presence at the fights. Fighters are pitted against one another as they are available, without proper regard to skill, fitness or ability levels. It is just a blood sport.
Mr Humphries: That is hearsay.
MR BERRY: How would you know? Have you ever been in a boxing ring? Have you ever had the gloves on? How would you know? The Government's Bill would outlaw these activities. What Mr Moore and Ms Szuty are about, and the Liberals, and Mr Stevenson, is allowing presentation to our community, young and old, of a very violent sport. All of you, from time to time, screech out loud about the level of violence in our society. Some of you who have been out late enough at night would have seen those youngsters having a kick at each other, trying to emulate the kick boxing heroes. What we have to demonstrate to the community as leaders in the ACT is that violence is not on, and it is in decline. What about organised kick boxing? Even here we have undisciplined violence. Listen to this one. I have been quoted figures by proponents of kick boxing that say that there were no deaths in kick boxing last year. I heard somebody say that here. These people have the temerity to then make comparisons with other sports, such as the football codes and netball. There are over 350,000 netballers in Australia.
Mr Kaine: So, how many of them were killed?
MR BERRY: None of them set out to take each other out; that is not the aim of the sport. The aim of kick boxing is to take your opponent right out. (Extension of time granted) Somebody mentioned the football codes. The aim of rugby league and rugby union is to get the ball, the bladder, from one end of the paddock to the other.
Mrs Carnell: What do you do to the other person who has it?
MR BERRY: Yes, there is some effort to get the ball off the people in between the ends of the field. Everybody knows that. But the main aim is to take the bladder from one end, or from the middle, to the other end, and hopefully from the middle back to the other end.
Madam Speaker, the aim of the kick boxing contest - - -
Mr De Domenico: Is what?
MR BERRY: The aim is to take your partner out, to beat them senseless.
Mr De Domenico: No, it is not.
MADAM SPEAKER: Could we have some order, please!
MR BERRY: To leave them a bleeding mess. That is what the aim of kick boxing is.
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