Page 279 - Week 01 - Thursday, 14 February 2019
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Harm minimisation does not stop at prevention. The ACT government takes harm minimisation much further for those who have gone too far and caught something. HIV counselling and support services are provided via the AIDS Action Council of the ACT and Capital Health Network. Our nurse-led walk-in centres provide free chlamydia testing. Hepatitis ACT provides resources to minimise the impact of hepatitis C and B in our community. SHFPACT provide testing, treatment, contraceptive advice and free condoms as well as education programs for those living with a disability. They also provide free STI tests for concession card holders, youth and students.
In the last financial year the ACT government funded the distribution of nearly 22,000 condoms. That is an awful lot of condoms that were used in a harm minimisation way to help protect against sexually transmitted infections, HIV and unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.
Not every child is raised in a household where sexuality and sexual health are discussed openly and honestly. I am proud to support a government and health minister who step up where prudish parents fail. The principles of harm minimisation say that that is the right thing to do. We need to keep getting the message out.
The ACT government does that through its support of a range of sexual health and education programs, but we can also do it here by taking leadership and saying no to prudishness, giving a message that you should put it on before you get it on, a message that should cover all members.
Safe, consensual sex is a great thing that I hope everyone in Canberra gets to enjoy. May your action always be protected and your union have no scabs.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (3.55): I thank Mr Pettersson for bringing the issue of harm minimisation before the Assembly today. Harm minimisation and harm reduction are important matters which at their core represent this government’s focus on helping people; in particular, vulnerable people.
Whenever we consider a new policy, a new system or a new law, the tangible impact on people’s lives must be considered in focus. A commitment to harm minimisation means that in my role as Attorney-General I am singularly focused on making sure that our legal system supports rehabilitation and the restoration of the losses to people, families and our community that come from addiction. If there is a way that our laws and our systems in government can reduce harm, we must and we will pursue it. Our approach to the laws around drug, alcohol and gambling harm shows that we are getting right down to business.
It is clear that there is no one simple answer to the problem that we face from the harm that comes from drug and alcohol use. However, we can say definitively—and this government accepts—that a prohibitionist policy has not worked, does not work and will not work.
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