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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4617 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

In terms of the private sector's exposure to the privacy regime, I was recently written to by the Commonwealth Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, raising the possibility that there could be some examination of this issue with respect to the private sector. I gather that he believes that there should be an extension of the legislation, or at least a consideration of that. I would be very interested to see how that transpires because, of course, we are covered by the Commonwealth legislation. If they believe that there can be an extension, that would apply most probably in the ACT, and I think the Government would be very willing to consider an extension in the ACT in line with any Commonwealth initiative. Mr Speaker, I do not think I would concede that there are gaping holes in our privacy legislation at the moment, although I am always open to suggestions about specific problems that we should or could address.

MR OSBORNE: My question is to the Minister for Children's and Youth Services, Mr Stefaniak, and I have given him notice of this question. Minister, I met recently with two groups of Year 10 students from St Clare's College, who expressed to me their disappointment about the current lack of late evening entertainment and activities for young people under the age of 18. At present, only one nightclub in Civic provides for this age group on a regular basis, while two other facilities offer regular activities, which are unfortunately often on a school night. The students have made some suggestions, such as the need for discos and nightclubs for young people under the drinking age; the availability of amusement centres that are open late on Friday and Saturday nights; a centrally located permanent venue where local bands can play, without the added problems of bar facilities; and the provision of sufficient security at this type of venue for young people. Minister, how can you, as the Minister responsible for youth affairs, and your Government assist in answering the queries of these young people and also assist in the process of encouraging businesses to cater for this age group and provide more suitable venues for our young people to socialise and feel secure around Canberra?

MR STEFANIAK: I thank the member for the question. It is a very good question. Since time immemorial, young people have felt that there are simply not enough things for them to do, especially things they would like to do and are unable to do. In terms of youth services, there are a lot of things young people can do, and I will initially address that and then speak about some of the very good points Mr Osborne raises.

Apart from various welfare support services, and that is not the focus of Mr Osborne's question, there is a wide range of recreational activities provided through such non-government groups as the YWCA, the YMCA, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, at which a lot of the St Clare's girls have done exceptionally well, the Police and Citizens Youth Club, which caters for some young people who go to things like the Blue Light discos, youth adventure holidays, the Canberra Youth Theatre Company, the scouts and the guides. As well as that, Mr Osborne, we are in the process of developing - and I hope to be able to make an announcement in the next few weeks - an alcohol-free nightspot in Civic for young people.

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