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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (18 April) . . Page.. 1100 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

If you are talking about a game like Dungeons and Dragons or any of those games that are definitely based in unreal terms - that is, they are not about contemporary society and contemporary games - then there is a very clear distinction, and people can very easily distinguish between what happens in that sort of game and what happens in paintballing. But you have people wearing contemporary army gear, running around the forests with guns that are otherwise banned, except for the purposes of this game. Can you not understand the connection between continually allowing more and more - - -

Mr De Domenico: They are not banned. Do you want to ban Lazer Zone as well?

MS HORODNY: Yes, Mr De Domenico. We have Lazer Zone. We already have a number of such games in the ACT. We have violent videos. We have all sorts of violence that is already out there. To take your analogy to its extreme, are we saying, "We have some air pollution; so, let us not worry about increasing that. We have problems in some areas; so, let us not worry about what other things we are doing as a society to make those problems worse."? Surely your responsibility, particularly as Police Minister, is to look at the connections and the long-term ramifications and to say, "Do we not have enough violence in our society as it is?". Why do we need to enhance this whole culture and say that it is all right to play with guns? As for grown men running around, playing with guns, there is a whole issue there as well.

I really wish that the Minister would consider talking to people who do have concerns and who have banned it in their shires, such as Yarrowlumla and Gunning. I wish that he would actually look at the long-term ramifications and make the connections.

Mr Humphries: Do not be so patronising, Ms Horodny.

MS HORODNY: Mr Humphries, you are often patronising. I think it is time that I did it to you.

Mr Berry: He has the belt, Lucy. You will never take the championship from him.

MS HORODNY: He sure has. The point is, Mr Humphries, that I think you are not being responsible, as the Minister for Police. You will jump up on any occasion and talk about violence in our society, as indeed you should; but you do not seem to be making the connections between all these other things that we are doing in our society and all the ways that we are continually enhancing violence. I think you really should look at it. It is a very serious issue. You think it is just a game; it is not doing any harm. For most people it may not do any harm; but you should know about the problems that such games and such play can introduce for certain people who are not as healthy and as stable as they should be. Just generally, when I spoke to this councillor, I heard about all sorts of incidents that had occurred.

It seems that you have the numbers to introduce this game into the ACT. I do not know what Mr Osborne is doing about this. It sounds as though he is supporting it as well. Again, I am surprised that an individual who is very concerned about violence in our society is happy to endorse this game of violence. I really think you should consider this

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