Page 3927 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 5 December 2007
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MRS BURKE (Molonglo) (11.12): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
Today I rise to present a bill which has come about as a result of concerns raised with me by constituents who are concerned about the guidelines and practices for body piercing for young people under the age of 18. For the information of members, I have written to the health minister, Ms Gallagher, in regard to this important issue. I offer the proposed amendments for the consideration of all members. I realise now, of course, that they may ultimately be incorporated in some form or other into the proposed new Children and Young People Act to be presented by the government in the new year. But I think it is worth while bringing this on now in order to have a broader debate, because to me it is a very serious health issue and it has serious impacts.
The Children and Young People Amendment Bill 2007 will amend the Children and Young People Act 1999. The changes will ensure that the tattooing and body piercing of children and young people is undertaken with their parent’s or guardian’s permission and will impose a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.
Clause 1 sets out the name of the act. It provides that, upon enactment, the bill will be titled the Children and Young People Amendment Act 2007. Clause 2 provides that the provisions of the bill will commence on the day after its notification day. Clause 3 sets out that the act will amend the Children and Young People Act 1999.
Clause 4 talks about offences against the act, the application of Criminal Code et cetera. Section 3A, note 1, new dot point, inserts into the act a new section 388 specifying tattooing and body piercing of children and young people. Currently, the act only makes mention of tattooing. I thought it was very important from a health perspective to bring into line the issue of body piercing.
Clause 5 deals with section 388 and substitutes the original wording with new wording specifying tattooing and body piercing of children and young people, namely:
(1) A person commits an offence if—
(a) the person tattoos or pierces a part of a child’s or young person’s body; and
(b) the tattooing or piercing is not in accordance with the written permission of a person with parental responsibility of the child or young person.
Again, that carries a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units. An offence against this section is a strict liability offence, and in this section “pierce” means part of a body; it means pierce the part to insert a ring, bar or other thing through the part and includes piercing the ear.
Tattooing and body piercing have been a worldwide craze since the 1990s and body piercing has become the fastest growing form of body decoration in the modern world.
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