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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (17 February) . . Page.. 310 ..

MS TUCKER: It is open for discussion if some clubs have sharps containers. It is ironic that he states that the focus is on gambling rather than on alcohol consumption. Through the gambling debate the Government kept arguing that it was gaming, not gambling, and that it was entertainment. The consistent line of the gambling industry is that it is entertainment, but suddenly in this letter it is gambling and that is different from entertainment. That is not consistent either.

I understand that there is a public health issue here. It is important to have these sharps containers in the facilities. It is clear that there already exists some use of the sharps containers, but I ask Mr Moore and Mr Humphries to come back to this place with a proposal that I hope will enjoy support from the rest of the Assembly and that we will be able to get up, more broadly applied, across entertainment venues in Canberra. I look forward to seeing a response from Mr Moore on the other recommendations that it be mandatory to have them in shopping malls, and see how that is progressing. The hotels obviously would not then feel so isolated. I understand why they do at this point. Because I think the public health benefits are a greater consideration at this point in time - we are talking about risk of serious illness to people who accidentally get pricked by one of these needles - I will err on the side of support for the public health argument rather than for the fact that it does not seem as if it is broadly enough applied.

I ask Mr Moore and Mr Humphries to give a commitment today to take up my suggestion and come back to this place with a broader application of the principles that this particular regulation has in it. There would probably be support if it were more broadly applied, as I understand the arguments here. I am not hearing members say they do not think that anybody ever uses sharps in hotels or clubs. As Mr Rugendyke said, you do not get asked to tick a box to say if you are an injecting drug user when you join a club. Mr Rugendyke's point is that there could well be injecting drug users in clubs. As I understand the arguments, there will be more support if it is more broadly applied.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (5.10): The intention of the Government in this policy was quite clear. It was about preventing the spread of disease, the public health issue. The Government has listened to the debate today. It is quite clear the numbers are there to modify the manual and that will happen. We can see that. Some clear messages have come through the debate. We are taking those on board because we are interested in the public health issues and therefore what is required of us should we bring this policy back to the Assembly. I suspect this will happen in a broader way and in a way that is supported with appropriate research. I hear that message clearly from members.

I have been pleased with the majority of debate. Members have concentrated on and understand the public health issue. The notion thrown in by a couple of members that this encourages drug use has been fairly easily dismissed. The international literature on all these issues makes it very clear that that does not happen. We would not expect that the Labor Club would have sharps containers if they believed it encouraged drug use. It does not; it is a disposal issue, a safety issue and an occupational health and safety issue.

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