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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 11 Hansard (21 October) . . Page.. 3468 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce proposed changes to the Animal Welfare Act 1992 that relate to domestic animals. So, Mr Speaker, I beg the indulgence of the Assembly whilst I put on my dog-collar and start by preaching about the inadequacies of the current dog-eared legislation that is administered in the Territory.

Mr Stefaniak: It is a dog eat dog world, though.

MR SMYTH: It is tough out there. At present, dogs are registered and controlled under the Dog Control Act 1975, animal nuisances are administered under the Animal Nuisance Control Act 1975 and cats are not specifically covered by legislation other than issues arising from nuisance or welfare concerns. The Dog Control Act 1975 has been heavily criticised over its apparent inability to effectively penalise dog owners who disregard the law. Registration numbers for the dog population of the ACT remain quite low. It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of owned dogs within the Territory are not registered. Dog owners continue to allow their pets to defecate in public areas without taking appropriate measures to clear up after them. In both these cases the dog owners are breaking the law, but enforcement is difficult under the law as it stands.

The Animal Nuisance Control Act 1975 has also been criticised for its inability to solve the problems it is meant to deal with. Under the current legislation, a decision by the Magistrates Court on application by the Registrar of Dogs is required to issue an order to direct the nuisance to cease. This is a time-consuming and expensive procedure and relatively few applications are made under the Act. Over the last four years only four cases have been brought to court.

Mr Speaker, the draft Domestic Animals Bill updates the law relating to dogs in the ACT and introduces requirements relating to cats, as well as delivering new and streamlined procedures for dealing with animal nuisance within the urban environment. The draft ACT urban cat management strategy complements the reforms in the Domestic Animals Bill and sets out the Government's approach to managing cats in urban areas. Mr Speaker, members may recall that in December 1997 Mr Gary Humphries, as Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning, released the public discussion paper entitled "ACT Cat Management: Discussion Paper for Community Comment".

Mr Speaker, the draft ACT urban cat management strategy incorporates the community comments received in response to the discussion paper. The strategy also had substantial input from a working group composed of Mr Colin Bates from the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, Ms Joanne Duffy from Capital Cats Inc., Dr Michael Hayward from the Australian Veterinary Association, Mr Keith Lockwood from the Conservation Council of the South East Region and Canberra, Ms Frankie Seymour from Animal Liberation ACT and Ms Paula Shinerock from the RSPCA (ACT). Mr Speaker, I wish to put on the public record the Government's appreciation of the work of these people and the organisations that they represent.

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