Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1693 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

about fitness testing, particularly against prescribed exercises. It has to be done with caution. Recommendation 5 says:

Fitness testing against prescribed exercises should only be undertaken with extreme caution. Instead, if schools choose to follow this route, 'exercise as fun' programs that allow fitness assessments to be undertaken on the child's own ability should be implemented. Any results from these assessments should be only available to parents/carers.

That recommendation came out of the evidence that was received, and I am hoping that, now Mr Stefaniak has read the report, he will take note of the views that were put by professionals and young people about this issue.

As I said, the report broadens the options once again and is asking for caution because there are serious issues about body image, which I am sure all members here are familiar with. A sense of failure around one's body can have significant mental health implications for young people, and it can also have significant implications for their attitude to physical exercise for their whole lives.

It is important that we do not just look at whether children and young people are doing exercise now; we also have to look at whether the nature of that exercise is such that it will be a lifelong habit and that it is not something that is just imposed-something they might do if they are forced to, for a short term, while the power is there to force them to do it. That is really the aim of physical education. I will read directly from the committee report:

The focus of physical education should not be on immediate physical activity, but on achieving and maintaining physical fitness for life.

That cannot be stressed enough. We know as a society that there are serious issues of physical fitness for our community, and the health costs of that, as people are well aware, are significant.

I will go to the other contentious issue of condom vending machines in schools. There has been some reaction to that from the media and some members of this Assembly. I will read out some of the important comments that were made by the committee on this. Recommendation 29 states:

4.95. The Committee heard evidence that twenty percent of year 10 students and 48% of year twelve students had had sexual intercourse. It is essential that these children receive appropriate and reliable information about safer sex and the risks associated with sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

4.96. Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT) expressed concerns to the Committee that while secondary school students have a good knowledge of HIV, their perception of their own risk of STI infection and their knowledge of STIs is poor.

4.97. The most common STI in the ACT is chlamydia, with a 200% increase in diagnoses in 2001 to 2002 - young people are largely overrepresented in this group. ...

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .