Page 191 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 23 February 1994
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Mr Humphries: What did you say, Wayne?
MRS CARNELL: What did you say?
Mr Berry: Read the speech.
MRS CARNELL: We understand that the Minister has given undertakings to clubs that there will be a very substantial time delay. If that is the case, Madam Speaker, where is the level playing field? Where is the concern about public health? If the Minister has been into poker machine rooms in a lot of the clubs around town, he will know where the smoke problem is. If he has been into a number of the bars and so on, he will know where the smoke problem is.
The Liberal Party's approach, very definitely, is to say, "Look, we have to treat all of these establishments the same. We cannot give some establishments an advantage over others". If we are really going to send out a message to young people, there are not an awful lot of under-25s who frequent restaurants every day of the week. A lot of them frequent bar bistros, but not too many are going to the restaurants in which Mr Berry wants to ban smoking. There is already in excess of 12 restaurants in the ACT that are smoke free, and every day that number becomes greater. Why? Because that is what the clients want; that is what people want. People want a smoke-free environment. But some people also want choice. So what we are suggesting is that, if we can establish that extraction systems do work, do create - - -
Mr Berry: You cannot.
MRS CARNELL: Well, what a good reason to send it to a committee, Mr Berry.
Mr Berry: It is $30,000 a smoker.
MRS CARNELL: What a good reason to send it to a committee, Mr Berry - to have a look at extraction systems. This legislation - - -
Mr Berry: You are wrong too. You had the answer before. Now you want to send it to a committee. You do not know what you are doing. On 29 January you said that they could go outside.
MRS CARNELL: We know exactly what we are doing. There is information to indicate that extraction systems work very well. There is also information, particularly from the United States, that - - -
Mr Berry: What is the name of the company?
MRS CARNELL: There is also information from the United States, Mr Berry - wait until I finish - from the air quality area of whatever the department is in Washington, that suggests that extraction systems do not work terribly well. I think this Assembly has to come to grips with what some companies and organisations are saying and what other organisations are saying. That is the whole basis of the committee process. We also have to accept that a lot of our young people in this city are employed in the hospitality area, the very establishments that Mr Berry is planning to hit with this legislation. If we are going to give some confidence to this area we have to have legislation that is transparent, so that all businesses know exactly where they stand.
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