Page 4089 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
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Madam Speaker, the committee recommended, first of all, that there be the placement of signs around Civic to make the community aware that Civic is an alcohol-free area. This, in turn, is based on the provision in the Liquor Act which makes it an offence to consume alcohol within 50 metres of a shop, licensed premises or bus interchange. That effectively makes Civic an alcohol-free area, and it is only appropriate to erect signs to make that clear.
Another matter that I want to comment on is the rather extraordinary way in which the Government has welcomed this recommendation, which is based on a change in the law which this Government strongly resisted. Members may recall that the Liquor Act was amended in November 1991, against the objection of the Follett Government, to create the concept of dry areas. This Government fiercely resisted it. On 25 November 1991 Mr Connolly, in effect, said that existing police powers could deal with the problems of people drinking in public places. He said:
It is perfectly appropriate for the police, under their ordinary operational procedures, to deal with persons so committing an offence. You do not need a dry areas law to provide for that. The police in their ordinary duties of foot patrolling can deal with them. If a person is acting unlawfully and breaching the law now, he ought to be dealt with under the law. If a person is consuming a cold stubbie but is in no other way committing anti-social or offensive behaviour or threatening a person physically or verbally, if that person is sitting there quietly consuming the cold stubbie that I would consume on my nature strip, having mowed the lawn, why do we need to make that a criminal offence? We should focus on the objectionable behaviour, not on the mere fact of consuming alcohol.
He went on to oppose the Bill as a whole, not just that section relating to bus interchanges or bus stops. The Minister has changed heart from being Terry Connolly the civil libertarian to Terry Connolly the man on whose door is knocking a very serious social problem, namely, the problem of loutish behaviour in some parts of Canberra, particularly Civic at night.
I also note that dry areas legislation, where there is a capacity to gazette such areas on a random basis, has been extensively used by this Government to deal with problems such as those that occur at the annual Summernats event. Dry areas have been declared along the northern stretches of Northbourne Avenue to ensure that there are no problems caused by people drinking or no problems of the kind that we saw a couple of years ago when people were tearing down traffic lights and things of that kind. We are now seeing very extensive use of and reliance by this Government on a power that was not necessary a few years ago. It is a rather extraordinary change of heart - one, however, which I welcome. Madam Speaker, another important recommendation is the recommendation giving additional powers to police to confiscate alcohol and to impose on-the-spot fines for street fighting, urinating in public, and using foul language. These matters were considered by the Community Law Reform Committee of the Territory. This recommendation is welcomed by the Opposition. It is pleasing to see the Government acknowledging that it is just possible that existing police powers in this area are not adequate to deal with what is a serious problem.
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