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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 12 Hansard (25 November) . . Page.. 3677 ..
MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):
a substantial imprisonment term. It also ensures that, where an offender on a periodic detention order reoffends in a way which warrants more than a very minor prison sentence, the offender will not return straight out of prison into periodic detention.
There are potential risks associated with mixing offenders who have been exposed to a prison environment with other offenders who have never been exposed to such an environment. The provisions enable the sentencing court to decide whether or not to cancel a periodic detention order where a detainee is sentenced to less than one month's imprisonment. If the detention order is not cancelled, a periodic detainee sentenced to less than one month's imprisonment will be taken to serve any detention period for which the detainee is in custody pursuant to the prison sentence. Once released, the detainee would not be liable to serve any outstanding detention periods under the periodic detention order. I commend this Bill to the house.
Debate (on motion by Mr Stanhope ) adjourned.
MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (10.58): I present the Supervised Injecting Place Trial Bill 1999, together with its explanatory memorandum.
Title read by Clerk.
MR MOORE: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Mr Speaker, members, the Bill I am introducing today substitutes the Drugs of Dependence (Amendment) Bill (No. 2) 1998 introduced last December. That Bill will be withdrawn. The new Bill becomes the enabling legislation for the Government's proposed supervised injecting place trial. I will return in a moment to outline the features of this Bill. However, I wish to outline the case for the scientific trial of a supervised injecting place and to explain exactly what the Government is proposing.
As many of you know, the ACT Government recently released From Harm to Hope - ACT Drug Strategy 1999, a comprehensive strategy incorporating actions from all agencies that deal with drug issues. The strategy emphasises the complex issues surrounding alcohol and other drug use across the continuum of care. From Harm to Hope brings together all the actions which government can take to address the abuse of illicit drugs.
The ACT Government's vision is one of a healthy society where the health and wellbeing of our citizens are maximised and health inequalities reduced. Ideally, we would all like to live in a society where illicit drugs are not an issue. The reality is, though, that drug misuse is continuing and, while we are working very hard to curb the misuse, distribution and uptake of drugs, particularly among our young people, there are current drug users in
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