Page 1756 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 17 October 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
encourage the establishment of these programs. Furthermore, these programs must be monitored carefully so that an effective result is achieved and the weak areas are improved. Random testing is an effective way of determining drug users, and the Government should work closely with the Australian sports drug agency to develop ways of carrying out random testing procedures in the ACT. Close liaison with sporting organisations will ensure that random testing is performed in such a manner that it avoids the risk of non-effective testing. I am certain that many ACT athletes will enter their names in the anti-drug register. This will not only be an incentive to steer away from the temptation to use drugs but will also encourage others to follow the same path.
Sport is an important factor in our lives, and our aim should be to produce drug-free athletes who will not only achieve great results but most likely become national and international champions. By having an effective system to discourage the use of performance enhancing drugs, our future athletes have a greater chance of achieving their ideals and goals in a true sportsmanlike manner.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.49): I want to add a few comments to those already made by other members of the house. First of all, I agree with the previous speaker when she referred to the importance of education programs. I do not believe it is possible to overestimate the importance of that. I suspect that money spent on sports education in the area of drugs could not be better spent than, for example, on random testing of athletes or things of that kind. It seems to me that education is by far the most important avenue.
I want to raise a couple of matters which we should consider before we are overcome by the warm inner glow which this subject brings to us when we talk about waging the good fight against drugs. Of course, it is an important battle to fight, but it does carry some consequences which we ought to consider. I think the extent to which organisations in Australia and overseas have found problems in dealing effectively with this matter indicates very clearly how very entrenched this problem is.
Drugs in sport are not, I regret to say, from my point of view, a fringe problem. They are not a random and isolated feature of sports internationally or in this country. They are, unfortunately, very deeply entrenched in some aspects of sport in this country. We cannot for one moment pretend that any easy solutions can be found to the problems that drugs in sport present.
Mr Speaker, I want to refer to two things. The Minister made it clear that he would be attending drugs in sport conferences in his capacity as ACT sports Minister and meshing in with the activities of our Federal and other State colleagues. He, however, did not refer to a problem that was alluded to by the Federal Minister, Senator Richardson, when he spoke on this subject on ABC radio on
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .