Page 610 - Week 02 - Thursday, 18 February 2016
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smoke-free areas in these places. Community consultation late last year showed that around 89 per cent of respondents support smoke-free areas at playgrounds, 91 per cent at sporting fields or events, and 91 per cent at bus waiting areas.
To ensure a balanced approach to declaring new smoke-free areas, community consultation will help inform the decision-making process. Ministers will also have due regard to factors such as how often the area is visited by children or families; the impact on community health; the costs and benefits of making an area smoke free, including economic and business impacts; and measures to promote compliance.
Where it makes sense to do so, the declaration may permit a designated smoking area to be established within a smoke-free public place or event. In these cases, safeguards will be in place to ensure that the public remains protected from exposure to second-hand smoke.
The legislation provides a strict liability offence to smoke at a public place or event where smoking is prohibited. It also provides strict liability offences for occupiers or managers of a public place or event that do not meet requirements for the declared smoke-free area, for example for signage or for a permitted designated smoke area. The penalties for the new offences are consistent with current penalties in the act.
When new smoke-free areas are declared, community education will be undertaken to ensure that people know where smoking is and is not permitted. “No smoking” signs will also be used.
Measures to promote compliance will be considered on a case-by-case basis. It is envisaged that public servants will be appointed as inspectors under the act. For example, following appropriate training, security guards at hospitals could be appointed inspectors to operate in the hospital precinct.
The passage of this bill will support the timely implementation of Future directions for tobacco reduction in the ACT 2013-2016, which outlines further potential areas to restrict tobacco use in the ACT. This is an important milestone in achieving the ACT government’s goal to improve public health and protect the community from tobacco-related harm. I am proud to say that it will allow the timely creation of new smoke-free areas, thereby enabling a cleaner, healthier Canberra for generations to come. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Doszpot) adjourned to the next sitting.
Transplantation and Anatomy Amendment Bill 2016
Ms Fitzharris, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MS FITZHARRIS (Molonglo—Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research, Minister for Transport and Municipal Services and Assistant Minister for Health) (12.17): I move:
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