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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 2591 ..
Amendments negatived.
Clause 13 agreed to.
Clause 14 agreed to.
Proposed new clause 14A.
MR RUGENDYKE (5.55): I move:
No 1-
Page 7, line 8, insert the following new clause:
"14A Unauthorised entry to event arena
A person must not enter or remain in the part of an Olympic venue in which an Olympic event is to be, is being or has just been conducted without the consent or other authorisation of the occupier.
Example of part of an Olympic venue in which an Olympic event is conducted
The playing field for a soccer game.
Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.".
I will speak to my amendment No 1 and to the bill as a whole, if I may. The amendments that I have formulated simply draw out some specific provisions I see as being necessary to clearly and unambiguously let people know some of the things that would constitute unacceptable behaviour.
To put this in context, we cannot afford to be complacent in our preparations for crowd control and security for the Olympics. There is no doubt that the Olympics is the biggest sporting event in the world, and it is an unfortunate reality that the international sporting arena has a history of incidents. The two rugby codes, which are the major hirers of Bruce Stadium, have a relatively trouble-free record with crowds. However, with the Olympics, we are expecting a mix of people who are passionate about their sport, possibly some soccer hooligans and others coming to a sport that we all know has a long list of commotions at an international level over the years.
This is not a statement made to degrade soccer, but a simple fact that we cannot underestimate. I am aware that there have been examples at Cosmos home games where problems have occurred with certain supporter groups, particularly with the use of flares. We all know that the Cosmos have small crowds, much smaller than those we expect to be in Canberra for the Olympic soccer, and it would be prudent for us to remove the open-ended nature of the definitions for interference and disruption of an event, so offences are clearly defined and police can clearly stamp on potential blow-ups.
It is also an unfortunate reality that the Olympics is not just the stage for athletes. It also provides the window of opportunity for political statements or protests, and it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to ensure that the stage is preserved for the athletes. We have to protect the athletes. This is one of the reasons it is imperative that this bill clearly specify unauthorised entry or, as it is commonly known, pitch invasion. The sporting world lost its innocence when champion tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed by a spectator in the early 1990s, so we do have to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
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