Page 1690 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 3 May 2011
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which you then, after enormous effort by the department, reneged on. But let us put that behind us, shall we? It is a pity that you could not have done that today.
Mr Hanson: Don’t be too precious, Jon.
MR STANHOPE: Poor little butterflies!
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Hanson!
Mr Doszpot: Who is being precious now, Jon?
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Hanson and Mr Doszpot!
MR STANHOPE: Poor little wilting violets; the fragile butterflies.
Mr Hanson and Ms Bresnan have gone to the issues of substance included within the amendments that are proposed. They are all very sensible and, as Mr Hanson rightly says, these are issues that were identified during that process of looking very closely at the implications for implementation and identified gaps or issues as a result of that very close attention to detail, most particularly by the ACT police and others in the context of just the practical implications of implementation and actioning of this important legislation.
I should say, for the information of members, that I have previously given undertakings that I would keep members informed of progress. I know that members have had briefings from ACT police and they may be up to date on where plans for implementation are up to. But once this legislation passes, and I understand it will pass today, the active process of drug testing will commence. I am advised that indeed it could commence within the next two to three weeks. That will be accompanied by a communication strategy advising the people of the ACT that the police will very shortly be undertaking random drug testing within the ACT.
An issue that has been raised, and one of the amendments goes to this of course, is that the ACT Government Analytical Laboratory is still in the process of validating and seeking accreditation for its oral fluid analytical capacity and, as a result of the fact that that has not yet been concluded, it has entered into an interim arrangement with the ChemCentre forensic laboratory in Western Australia under which analysts from that particular laboratory will undertake confirmatory analysis of oral fluid samples collected by ACT Policing. As members are probably aware, that particular centre currently provides services to the Western Australia Police. It is therefore necessary that we do pursue that amendment to allow that particular centre to have the necessary authorities to act for the ACT.
Having said that, this will be a temporary arrangement and it is our hope at this stage that the ACT Government Analytical Laboratory will be in the position to undertake those necessary fluid analyses within the next few months and certainly it is hoped that that will occur before the end of this year.
Again I thank members for their support of these amendments. They are important. They ensure that the legislation will at the end of the day operate in the method intended.
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