Page 1575 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 27 September 1989
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consider the issue raised in the report. I will be attending, as the representative of the ACT.
The Government has a responsibility to contribute to eliminating the use of drugs and doping practices prohibited by the International Olympic Committee. The need for a nationally coordinated approach to eliminate the use of prohibited substances in sport and the establishment of a random drug testing program was agreed at the last Sport and Recreation Ministers Council meeting in March 1989. It is against this background that the Government has acknowledged the need to establish an ACT policy which is in line with Commonwealth Government policies.
The development of this policy demonstrates the commitment by the ACT Government to these agreements and implements ACT Labor Party policy relating to drug-free sport. The establishment of programs for elite and developing athletes under the ACT Academy of Sport also necessitates the development of formal policies, terms and conditions on the use of prohibited doping practices by ACT athletes or organisations receiving assistance from the academy.
The ACT policy on drugs in sport reflects this Government's strong opposition to the use of prohibited substances and doping practices by athletes. It supports moves by national and other sporting associations for random dope testing at championships and competitions and during training. It also encourages the development of drug education programs for ACT athletes and sporting bodies.
Financial and other assistance provided by the ACT Government for sporting organisations and athletes in future will be subject to this policy. In particular, any athlete found by a relevant controlling body of sport to have engaged in doping practices prohibited by that body would be ineligible for any financial or other assistance under the ACT sports assistance programs. These include the ACT sports development program, the ACT Academy of Sport and the talented athletes award scheme.
Athletes receiving government assistance will have to declare that they will not use prohibited doping practices. They must agree to refund the sum of money of any grant if suspended from sport for misconduct, including the taking of banned substances during the grant year. Other provisions in the policy allow for people involved with sport, such as coaches, officials, medical practitioners or employees of sporting organisations, to be ineligible for assistance if they are knowingly involved in any breach of the doping provisions by the controlling body.
To be eligible to receive financial or other assistance, ACT sporting organisations will be requested to provide a written statement of their policy on drugs in sport and to agree with any conditions related to the ACT Government policy. Hirers of ACT government-managed sports facilities may be required to cooperate in appropriate random drug
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