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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1551 ..

MR OSBORNE (6.13): I will be supporting the Government on this issue. I must admit, though, that I have done an about-turn. When I was first approached, my initial reaction was that a law is a law and when it is in place we should stick by it. I have since spoken to a number of smaller clubs and smaller taverns in my electorate. One in particular, the Tuggeranong Buffalos, is really only a very small organisation that, quite honestly, could not afford at this stage the extraction system needed. They are at the bottom of a three- or four-storey building, with many offices above them. For them, it would be quite expensive.

I would imagine that when this law was introduced it was not designed to give the clubs or the pubs an advantage or a disadvantage, whichever way you would like to look at it, compared with one another. Given the current economic climate, some of the big clubs could afford to get the extraction system in place without placing too great a burden on their resources, and this would give them a decided advantage over the smaller taverns and smaller pubs.

Mr Speaker, being a non-smoker, I agree very much with many of the things said by Mr Berry; but, given that it is only 18 months, I am prepared to support the legislation. I will speak further when I move my amendment later. Mr Berry implied that we were bowing to the tobacco companies. I would just like to state that I have not had any discussion with, or been approached by, any of the tobacco companies. The only people I have spoken to about this are, as I said, some of the smaller clubs and taverns. I had a meeting this morning with the AHA, but that was after I had made my decision to go the way that I have.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care) (6.15), in reply: Mr Speaker, I think that the approach taken in this area by the Assembly, except Mr Berry, is very sensible. At this time in Canberra's economic circumstances, we do not want to do anything that would cause businesses a very real problem. I have listened to a lot of small businesses that have indicated that to go totally smoke free from 6 June would cause them enormous problems. I am the first to admit that they have had 21/2 years to try to sort it out, but they have not done it; so I think we need to put in place the transition period that we have been speaking about, to allow people in licensed premises to get used to moving to an area where they can smoke, instead of lighting up a cigarette at the bar.

Mr Speaker, it is interesting to note that Mr Berry indicated that, if they had been in government, all premises would now be totally smoke free. He indicated that by 25 May - which is in a week or so's time - he would have made sure that the occupational health and safety regulations for a smoke-free environment were in place. Mr Berry does not support extraction systems. On that basis, we would end up, on the 25th of this month, with all of our pubs, clubs, taverns and everything else absolutely smoke free. Now, come on! We are not talking about jokes.

I agree very strongly that people have a right to smoke-free air, Mr Speaker; but in question time today I read a quote from Mr Berry in which, the last time we debated this, a few years ago, he indicated that you had to bring the industry with you; you had to have a phase-in period. Unfortunately, that was only when it suited Mr Berry. I think that the

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