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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 08 Hansard (Wednesday, 4 August 2004) . . Page.. 3390 ..

industrial purposes such as non-woven textiles. Currently there is limited capability in Australia for the processing of products. The full potential of the domestic market is still being discovered and assessed.

Hemp plants grow to a height of one to four metres, depending on the type of plant and growing conditions. It is also known as an excellent rotation crop. It reduces the need for chemical weed control, as the characteristic early growth and density smothers weeds and therefore acts as a natural weed control. Hemp is harvested during the summer months with a crop reaching maturity 60 to 90 days after planting.

I am interested in considering the suitability of hemp crops in the ACT. The crop requires a nutrient-rich, well-drained, well-structured sandy or silty lime soil with high organic matter. In most crops hemp does not require any herbicides. Approximately four megalitres of water is required over the crop production period, varying according to soil type and depth, initial soil moisture content, soil water holding capacity, irrigation systems, temperatures reached and evapotranspiration rates.

This information indicates to me that, due to the high water needs of hemp, maybe it is not an ideal crop in the Cotter catchment, following Mrs Burke’s suggestion that the burnt out forests be replanted with hemp. The government has also raised such issues, and I am pleased to hear that they are reluctant to give out water licences easily for this sort of work. Equally, I would question the future of cottage industries around the growing of grapes and olives in the region.

The scheme for licensing and enforcement is orthodox, as the scrutiny committee knows. I understand that there are three categories of licenses: one for a grower, one for a person who undertakes research on cannabis plants that have a THC concentration of three per cent or more—THC is tetrahydrocannabinal, the psycho-active ingredient in cannabis—and another for a person who undertakes research on cannabis plants that have a THC concentration of more than one per cent but less than three per cent, according to the concentration the researcher works with.

This seems like an extremely rigorous licensing system, but I am a bit concerned by a few restrictive features of it. The chief executive, when deciding whether to grant or refuse a licence to a person, must consider matters such as good repute, having regard to the character, honesty and integrity of the person and their close associates. The chief executive may make investigations about relevant persons and may also ask for a criminal history report about any of the people. These requirements raise some rights concerns. I have drafted some amendments to take out the eligibility criterion that includes a condition of being convicted or found guilty within the previous 10 years of a serious offence.

My amendment replaces this eligibility criterion with one that was used in the Drugs of Dependence (Cannabis for Medical Conditions) Bill—that the person has not been found guilty or convicted in the previous five years of an offence involving drugs prescribed under the regulations. This amendment makes it clear that the criminal history of concern is really based on drug offences rather than other general offences.

I was also concerned with the definition of “serious offence” in the dictionary as it defines “serious offence” as an offence punishable by imprisonment for three years or

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