PRODUCT SAFETY

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:02): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer Affairs a question about product safety.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: OCBA does some good work keeping consumers informed of dangerous products, and the Australian government product safety website is also a very handy resource, because it is important that consumers are kept informed as products are identified as being unsafe. Will the minister advise members of recent product safety work undertaken by OCBA?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (15:02): OCBA's work on product safety is significant. Over the past 12 months the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs has been faced with a variety of product safety issues that have required several different approaches to ensure that product safety standards are upheld. The actions have ranged from issuing public warnings and introducing new safety standards to instigating product recalls and declaring product bans. The types of products affected have ranged from children's toys and cots to decorative candle holders and even ceramic cooking pots.

Most recently I issued a media release alerting the public to a product that has been deemed unsafe and which I have declared a dangerous good. The liquid lolly, called Sweetmans Wicked Fizz liquid candy—

The Hon. B.V. Finnigan: Not the Wicked Fizz!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The wicked liquid fizz has now been banned in South Australia. The lollies are sold in a deodorant-type container about the size of an ordinary roll-on deodorant, with a roll-on ball at the top. If the child squeezes the container the ball can quite easily be dislodged and propelled into the child's mouth and down their trachea. Children are inclined to hold the product into their mouth, squeeze it and propel this ball down their throat.

Recently the Office for Business and Consumer Affairs was advised that an eight year old child in Queensland choked while eating this lolly, requiring emergency treatment. Very fortunately, the incident was not fatal, but could quite easily have been. However, OCBA's product safety unit assessed this Chinese-made product as being of high risk to children under 12 years, and it will now be removed from the shelves of all South Australian retailers. Lolly shops and general stores have been required to take it off their shelves and to withdraw it from sale. The ban was gazetted on 19 October 2010, and retailers found to be selling the product could face a penalty of up to a maximum of $10,000.

I am advised that South Australia is the first state to ban the product, and it is understood that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been dealing with the distributor in Queensland. On 20 October, a national product recall was issued on the product safety website.

Obviously, any South Australian who has bought this product should immediately take it from any child, and it is recommended that it be disposed of. I must point out that, although the product does carry the warning—in very small print, I have to say—'Not suitable for children under three years,' and 'Do not squeeze'—on a removable wrapper I have to add—we know that young children usually would not look at a warning of that type when they are about to enjoy a lolly; in fact, I doubt that most adults would probably read a warning of that nature. Also, I think—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Yes. I am advised that, while other brands of similar confectionery are on sale, those that are left on the shelves have more rigid containers so that the container cannot be squeezed and the ball propelled and dislodged from it when squeezed. We are urging anyone who spots these Sweetman's Wicked Fizz liquid candy products for sale in South Australia to notify the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs immediately.