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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 08 Hansard (Wednesday, 4 August 2004) . . Page.. 3391 ..

longer. I have spoken before about my concern about reducing the requirement of “serious offence”. So I have amended, in this instance, this legislation to make the drug offences more relevant to this debate.

MR STANHOPE (Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Environment and Minister for Community Affairs) (10.55): The government will support the bill, not because we have any particular faith in the capacity of the bill to be a catalyst for a thriving industrial hemp industry in the ACT but primarily because of the opportunity it presents for research activities within the ACT in relation to hemp and a range of issues around the possible uses of hemp or industrial hemp for commercial and research purposes within Australia.

It is the case that the ACT is the only jurisdiction in Australia that does not have legislation that would enable either the commercial production of hemp or research into issues around hemp. That is a potential restriction within the ACT that seems anomalous and in relation to which there is no rational or cogent basis. As has been touched on by Ms Tucker, there are some questions around whether or not hemp would ever be grown commercially in the ACT—whether or not it is a commercial crop or has commercial potential, having regard for our environment and the nature of the conditions here within the ACT.

Hemp is a crop that requires significant levels of water for optimal production or growth. It also requires significantly high levels of nutrients. Hemp is not particularly frost tolerant and grows best where there is significant summer rainfall. It is probably fair to offer the comment that the places within Australia best suited to the large-scale commercial production of industrial hemp are the Northern Territory, perhaps parts of northern Western Australia, and Queensland. But I think the fact that it is highly unlikely that industrial hemp will be grown commercially within the ACT is not reason enough, of itself, to oppose the bill. As I have said, there are many research institutions in the ACT: CSIRO Plant Industry, CSIRO Land and Water, the Australian National University, and Land and Water Australia are all based here.

It may be that all those organisations would wish to undertake work in relation to industrial hemp and there really should be no disincentive or incapacity in opportunities for them to undertake that research, having regard for the potential for commercial production of industrial hemp throughout Australia. So while the ACT’s climate and soils are less capable of supporting industrial hemp as a crop, we are certainly well placed to facilitate research on developing strains, for example, of industrial hemp for commercial production in other places throughout Australia. I think it is relevant that there is no legislation in the ACT that allows this to occur. It is only reasonable that the ACT be brought into line with other jurisdictions around Australia.

I am not aware of any interest within the ACT community for the production of industrial hemp on a commercial scale but, whilst ever there is a legislative prohibition to that occurring, there is no incentive for anybody within the ACT to think about it as a potential crop. It is appropriate that we make the point, though, that with regard to issues we face in relation to the sustainable use of water within the ACT, I do not think this government, or any other government, would be looking particularly actively or sympathetically at requests from potential commercial hemp growers to be allowed to

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