TOBACCO PRODUCTS REGULATION (FURTHER RESTRICTIONS) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Second reading.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (16:25): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

This Bill seeks to amend the Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997 and is about further protecting the community from passive smoking.

The Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse introduced this Bill into the other place and it was passed on 23 November 2011. I introduced this Bill into the House on 24 November. However, since that time Parliament has been prorogued and I am now reintroducing it.

We have known for a long time that second hand tobacco smoke can lead to serious health problems, including coronary heart disease and lung cancer in adults, and asthma and other respiratory illnesses in children. This Government has already taken strong steps to improve air quality for indoor environments by banning smoking in all enclosed public places, workplaces, shared areas and also in vehicles when children under 16 years are present. These measures have been very effective and well supported by the South Australian public.

We know that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand tobacco smoke, inside or outside. Research demonstrates that outdoor smoking is a potential hazard, particularly around larger numbers of active smokers and under certain wind conditions. This means that passive smoking is a risk for those who spend time in confined outdoor public places and this is especially so for children and people with a pre-existing health condition.

In 2010, 71 per cent of South Australians surveyed reported that they were concerned about exposure to someone else's cigarette smoke, while 66 per cent reported that they actually had been exposed in the previous two weeks. SA Health regularly receives complaints from the general public about smoke drift and passive smoking in outdoor public places. These include areas where smokers congregate, such as outdoor public events and bus stops.

This Bill proposes to ban smoking in a number of public areas to protect the community from the dangers of passive smoking. For this reason we want to make all covered passenger transport waiting areas free of tobacco smoke. This includes bus, tram and train stops, as well as taxi ranks and any other covered outdoor area where people need to congregate to wait for public transport. This will allow passengers to access public transport, while seeking protection from the weather, without the risk of passive smoking, due to the confined nature of covered transport stops. Given that the South Australian public are concerned about passive smoking and support smoking bans in outdoor areas, it is likely that this initiative, like others before it, will establish a self regulating norm in these areas.

This Bill being brought before the House today is also about protecting children from thinking that smoking is normal. Children are not only vulnerable to exposure to tobacco smoke, but they are also influenced by seeing adults smoking. It is proposed that smoking be banned within 10 metres of children's playground equipment that is located in a public area. This would include all playground equipment in public areas, such as parks, as well as in areas such as fast food outlets and other venues. The distance of 10 metres is in line with similar bans already introduced in Queensland and Western Australia, and being introduced in Tasmania in March 2012. In 2010, restricting smoking in children's playgrounds had the highest level of public support with 96 per cent of South Australians surveyed supporting a restriction in these areas.

With this Bill we also propose to allow local councils and other incorporated entities to apply to SA Health to have an area or event declared smoke-free. This allows the Government to respond effectively to known and unforseen localised smoking problems but also gives local councils and other bodies the flexibility to identify and apply to have a certain area or an event declared non-smoking under the Act.

The intent is that the following types of events or areas could be declared non-smoking:

one-off, time-limited major events such as the Christmas Pageant; and

popular public places, for example an unenclosed shopping mall.

It is not intended that this Bill be used to regulate seated outdoor drinking and dining areas that are part of the normal day to day business operations of premises.

Effective enforcement that is consistent is crucial, and so under this Bill we propose to give enforcement officers the option to issue expiations to people 15 years and over. The rationale for this is that young people are likely to congregate in the areas affected by the Bill, particularly in regard to passenger transport areas. The Expiation of Offences Act 1996 allows for other Acts to set the minimum age of a person who can be given an expiation notice. Lowering that age to 15 years in the Tobacco Products Regulations Act 1997 will allow for the effective enforcement of these amendments and is also consistent with the Passenger Transport Act 1994.

The Bill, when introduced in the other place, had a proposed implementation date of 2 January 2012. However, given that the Bill’s passage was delayed due to the Parliamentary schedule late last year, this date has now changed. Should the Bill be passed by the Parliament, the provisions will be brought into operation on 31 May 2012. This is World No Tobacco Day, an appropriate date to introduce significant measures that will benefit all South Australians.

I commend this Bill to the House.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

3—Amendment provisions

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Tobacco Products Regulation Act 1997

4—Insertion of sections 49, 50 and 51

This clause inserts new sections into the principal Act as follows:

49—Smoking banned in certain public transport areas

This section proscribes smoking in a prescribed public transport area. Subsection (5) defines what a prescribed public transport area is, namely any part of a bus stop, tram stop, railway station, taxi rank, airport or similar place that is a public place, is used, or is intended to be used, by passengers boarding or alighting from public transport and is wholly or partly covered by a roof.

The section also clarifies when a person will be taken to be in a prescribed public transport area and sets out evidentiary matters.

The maximum penalty for a contravention of the section is a fine of $200.

50—Smoking banned near certain playground equipment

This section proscribes smoking in public areas within 10 metres of playground equipment (being playground equipment that is itself in a public area).

The section also clarifies when a person will be taken to be in a public area and sets out evidentiary matters.

The maximum penalty for a contravention of the section is a fine of $200.

51—Minister may ban smoking in public areas

This section allows the Minister, by notice in the Gazette, to declare that smoking is banned in the public area or areas specified in the notice. Signs setting out the effect of the ban must be erected so as to be seen by members of the public using the area.

The section also sets out procedural matters in relation to a notice under the section, as well as clarifies when a person will be taken to be in a public area and sets out evidentiary matters.

The maximum penalty for contravening a notice under the section is a fine of $200.

5—Insertion of section 83

This clause inserts new section 83 into the principal Act allowing expiation notices for offences against the Act to be given to a child who is 15 years of age or older.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.J. Stephens.