Page 718 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 1 April 2008
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Whether that choice is made by drinking too much and losing control over their behaviour or whether it is a conscious choice to behave in antisocial behaviour, individuals must take responsibility for their own actions. Without prejudging the circumstances, we have seen an event with one of our Olympic hopefuls in the last couple of days which has led to quite a savage public response. I think it is fair to say that the public are not going to tolerate situations where people, no matter who they are, go out and engage in public brawling. The legislation, as I have said, will force individuals, through their own hip pocket, to think carefully about how they behave when frequenting Canberra’s nightspots.
I will take the opportunity, again, to reiterate that I do not believe there is a major problem of violence through alcohol and drug-fuelled incidents in Canberra nightspots, but I do recognise that the perception of violence or danger is very important. Many venues take a proactive role in stamping out antisocial behaviour. I am aware, for example, that many venues spend significant amounts of money on CCTV systems to ensure that they are aware of what is happening on their premises at all times. This is a responsible attitude that should be commended. Similarly, our police do a good job at nightspots in responding to incidents. They, too, deserve commendation. This is a somewhat thankless task that they have. It is certainly not one I would like to do. It is a shame that the response to isolated incidents is so overblown and politicised by a select few.
Nevertheless, that said, this legislation represents a genuine attempt to strengthen the systems in place to ensure that alcohol and drug-fuelled antisocial behaviour is minimised. It could go further, and it is a shame that it does not. As I have said, I supported Mr Stefaniak’s original bill, but I will also support these initiatives on the part of the territory government. In my previous role, I strongly campaigned about the issue of violence and took a view that there really should be a zero tolerance towards violence on licensed premises. I have heard many examples over my years working in the hospitality sector of dreadful assaults on people. I have a friend in South Australia who is a hotelier. He has suffered permanent damage from an assault when he apprehended someone breaking into his premises. I have heard of all the stories of people who are door staff who are bad, but you can hear some pretty horrific stories on the other side of the table about patrons who come into premises and are clearly looking to cause trouble.
We as a community need to respond more severely in relation to these matters. I lived in Chicago for a couple of years, and I never saw a street brawl or a bar brawl in the entire time I was there. I asked friends of mine why that was the case, and they said, that it used to be the roughest place you could ever live, but in the 1970s, the police took a very, very tough view, and anyone involved in brawling was arrested and locked up. This bill does not go to the extent of locking them up, unless there is a failure to pay the fine, I would imagine, but I think that society will benefit from a tougher approach in relation to these matters.
I am not a one-eyed law and order campaigner, but I am very sympathetic to people who have to work in hospitality. My children at different times have worked in hospitality. People should not be putting their personal safety on the line when they
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