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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 08 Hansard (Wednesday, 4 August 2004) . . Page.. 3449 ..

MR CORNWELL: Lastly, there is also the question of the cost to clubs. Most of us would have received a letter from ClubsACT indicating that one club earned approximately $120,000 in commission I think on the sales and that at least some of the money goes into a charitable donation fund.

I am quite happy—as I say, albeit reluctantly—to support this. However, if as a result of what happens in September 2006 the amount of money coming into the charities goes down, I trust that those who are in support of this sort of thing will be happy to defend that to the charities.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I find a rich irony here—and I will be waiting to see how people vote on this matter—that while we are planning to restrict the sale of a legal product, we have on the notice paper for debate an item entitled “Drugs of dependence, syringe vending machines”. We are now apparently—

Mr Wood: Well, they are both related to harm minimisation, Mr Cornwell.

MR CORNWELL: Thank you. I like the euphemism, Mr Wood. So what was illegal is now legal, what was legal is now illegal. I find it difficult to get my head around it. Nevertheless, I am happy to support—I repeat, reluctantly, because I feel a bit of a hypocrite—the legislation and certainly the amendments that are going to be moved by my colleague.

MS DUNDAS (4.31), in reply: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank members for their contribution to this debate. I think some interesting points have been raised and I will respond to a few of them. I think the key issue that needs to be focused on is access. The sale of tobacco is legal to people aged 18 and over. It is not legal to sell tobacco to people aged 17 and under.

Tobacco vending machines do not ask for ID. They cannot make a judgement on whether or not somebody is legally able to access that product. It is an issue about access. That is the key point that some members seem to have forgotten. I think there is a real difference between a machine and somebody purchasing cigarettes at a bar, at a counter, where there are big signs talking about problems involved with smoking and where there is a discussion, a dialogue, between the person purchasing the cigarettes and the person selling them. That is the difference that we are talking about here. This is the key focus.

I am disappointed that members seem to have thought that this was an opportunity to have a go at some other issues that we will be looking at, without really looking at what is trying to be achieved here today.

We know that smoking continues to be one of Australia’s largest health problems. The recent publication of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia’s Health 2004, stated that of all health factors, smoking is responsible for the greatest disease burden in Australia. It accounts for around 12 per cent of the total burden of disease in males and 7 per cent in females. Recent evidence here in the ACT shows that we have one of the highest rates of smoking among young people in Australia and nearly a third of teenage girls consider themselves as smokers and are smoking cigarettes daily.

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