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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (30 August) . . Page.. 2661 ..

Debate resumed from 16 February 2000, on motion by Mr Quinlan:

MR RUGENDYKE (3.51): Mr Speaker, I rise to support this bill. The intention obviously is to provide immunity to hotel proprietors and club proprietors and organisations and to prevent them from being implicated in civil or criminal proceedings in the event that the machines that are in their premises give a different reading from what the subject might receive when he gets pulled up by the police outside.

I have complete faith in the machines within the clubs. I believe that they bear the appropriate standard and conform to the appropriate standard, although I am not sure which specific one it is. It is a national standard that they do conform with. I think the most recent types of machines are of a very good standard and should be used to give people the opportunity to test their breath before leaving a licensed premise in order to give an indication of whether they are able to drive. I think it is a good thing, and I support the bill.

MS TUCKER (3.53): The Greens also will be supporting this bill because it is about basic responsibility and public information. It simply puts the responsibility on licensees to ensure that breath analysis equipment installed in premises is accurate, but also that users are aware that the results of such analysis are not accepted in law. It is a sensible bill. We support it.

MR QUINLAN (3.54), in reply: Given it is obvious that the bill has general support, I will not take up too much of the Assembly's time. I introduced the bill and made a speech in relation to it, so I will leave that as a matter of record. Thank you.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Bill, by leave, taken as a whole.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (3.55): I move amendment No 1 circulated in my name, and I present the explanatory memorandum for the amendment. The amendment reads:

Mr Speaker, this amendment changes the words which appear in the notice which must be displayed on any machine which is designed to test breath. The sign presently provided for reads in part: "Readings given by this instrument are not accepted by the police or the courts." My amendment inserts words to create the following sentence:

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