Page 3575 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 12 October 1994
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This amendment Bill will achieve a much more sensible approach. These duties will now be delegated to a new position, the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service. I assume - taking into account that there are no financial implications from this Bill - that an existing position will be retitled. I am sure that the Minister will enlighten me on that. We support the Bill. It is a sensible piece of legislation.
MR MOORE (5.09): Madam Speaker, I have taken some interest in the Drugs of Dependence Act since I came into the Assembly. This amendment Bill gives me an opportunity to comment on the important system we have within this Act whereby it is possible for drug users to be considered as people rather than as objects, as has happened in many other places. I think it is important to put on the record, Madam Speaker, that that is an important part of our rather advanced legislation in the ACT. The legislation does contain some things that I will seek to modify over the next few years, if I have the opportunity. The proposal put up by the Government today, Madam Speaker, will strengthen the Act rather than weaken it. Really, it just establishes the Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service as the person who is to take over the work that has been a direct responsibility of the Minister. I think that is a very sensible step.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General and Minister for Health) (5.11), in reply: I thank members for their support, but I thank Mr Moore particularly for reminding us that the drugs of dependence legislation and its forerunners pre self-government have always been very enlightened pieces of legislation. We have been seen historically as leading Australia in the area of dealing with drug addiction as a health issue rather than dealing with the consequences of drug addiction as a criminal law issue, and that is very encouraging.
I have noticed that various members have said that this Bill will save Ministers a lot of work. I should say, from my perspective - I am sure that Mr Berry would share this - that actually neither I nor Mr Berry had to do much work in these circumstances; we just had to sign a piece of paper that was shoved in front of us. But Ms Baker, my principal adviser, and Ms Robinson, who served Mr Berry for many years, spent many hours late at night, charging all over Canberra, picking up various documents and tracking down their Ministers. While it may save me and future Ministers for Health the odd inconvenience of answering a knock at the door or being tracked down to a restaurant to sign a piece of paper, it will save successive staff members and bureaucrats countless hours in tracking down Ministers and pointlessly running around town with pieces of paper. It is not to save the Minister as much as to save staff and bureaucrats.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Bill agreed to in principle.
Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.
Bill agreed to.
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