Page 1030 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 April 1994
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Two local needle exchange outlets reported 50 "contacts" with steroid users a month.
"That's generally people coming in to collect a box of 100 needles and syringes," Ms Watson said. "I would say that's a very conservative estimate of the numbers that are actually doing it."
"Users come from a wide range of educational and socio-economic backgrounds," she said. "They're not just big, beefy dumdums - They're from everywhere in the community."
It shows that we have a huge problem in Canberra - something that I do not think we can put off legislating on. I hope that we really can reach agreement on this important issue quickly. My Bill has been on the table for 12 months, which I think is too long, as I have attempted to reach some sort of agreement, particularly with Mr Moore.
I do not believe that the comments of Mr Moore are actually relevant to this Bill, and Mr Moore is aware that I think that. I think that harm minimisation is a very important issue; but, unless we can put in place the tools for our law enforcement agencies to attempt to stop the pushing of these harmful substances, there is simply no point in doing anything. The issue of personal users and how we educate them and give them treatment is a totally separate issue and must be treated as such. It should be treated as a health issue, not a law enforcement issue. I certainly look forward to working with both Mr Connolly and Mr Moore on this issue.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Grassby, by leave) adjourned.
TREE-PLANTING IN NEW SUBURBS
MR HUMPHRIES (11.13): I move:
That this Assembly calls on the Government to solicit the views of local residents before deciding on tree-planting for streets in newly-developed suburbs.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this might appear to be a relatively trivial matter; but it is a matter that has concerned at least a small number of people and perhaps a quite large number of people in the ACT as we continue our push in different directions, as we develop new suburbs in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin and West Belconnen and, in the future, Jerrabomberra and places such as that. People build their houses and move into them in those newly developed areas and are very intent as new home owners to establish gardens and attractive landscaping around their homes. They also seek to do so in an environment that is generally attractive and conducive to the sorts of things they hope to achieve on their properties.
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