Page 3706 - Week 12 - Thursday, 21 October 1993
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FOOD (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1993
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (10.57): I present the Food (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1993. This is what everybody has been waiting for.
Mrs Carnell: Very patiently.
MR BERRY: If we had held our breath while the Liberals were there, it would never have been done.
Title read by Clerk.
MR BERRY: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
This Bill is the third and final part of the Government's program to review and upgrade food legislation in the ACT. Members will recall, I am sure, the passage of the Food Act in 1992 which adopted the Australian food standards code into ACT legislation. This was the first step in reforming ACT food laws.
The history of food legislation in the ACT and Australia dates back to the early 1900s, when the State and Commonwealth governments agreed to implement uniform food standards to facilitate interstate trade. Although there was some degree of success over the years, it was not until 1991 that agreement was reached between the State, Territory and Commonwealth governments to adopt the Australian food standards code into individual State legislation. At that time, the ACT had standards only for milk products and sausage meat, leaving the vast majority of foods in the ACT without labelling, composition and packaging standards. This led to allegations that manufacturers were legally dumping in the ACT food that could not be sold interstate.
The original ACT food legislation, drafted in the 1930s, addressed the hygiene and food preparation problems of the thirties. For example, the 1930 Act requires horse manure bins at bakeries to be covered - that was very important in the thirties. Mind you, in the fifties the horses were pulling the bakers' carts.
Mrs Carnell: You can remember that, can you?
MR BERRY: Yes, I had a drive of one. Likewise, the emphasis on delivery is on horse-drawn vehicles and not cars. I am sure that very few members can recall when they last ate food delivered on horseback. I can.
Mr Westende: I can.
MR BERRY: Yes, you can.
MADAM TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mrs Grassby): We know who the older members of the Assembly are.
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