Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am proud and pleased today to speak in support of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Bill 2005 and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2005. These bills signal a new era in Australia’s already strong commitment to eliminating performance-enhancing drugs in all forms and at all levels of sport. Australia has long been recognised as a world leader and as a nation with firm principles on drugs in sport. The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games brought with them some of the toughest antidoping measures ever adopted. The previous speaker, the member for Ryan, said the conduct of the Sydney Olympics was a triumph for Australia not just in competition on the field but because of our tough antidoping measures. I endorse all of what he had to say.

I have a keen interest in these antidoping bills, having been involved in competitive sport of one form or another for most of my life—including swimming, running, triathlons and rugby. Indeed, for me over many years rugby union was a way of life. Rugby union, as they say, is the sport played in heaven. It starts this Friday night, in Western Australia, when the Western Force take on the Brumbies in the new Super 14 format. Rugby, like many other sports, is a sport built on the principles of honour, fairness, sacrifice, discipline and sportsmanship. These same principles have been the backbone of Australian sport of all kinds for generations. The use of performance-enhancing drugs—indeed, any drugs—flies in the face of these principles, undermining everything which makes sport such an important part of the social fabric of this country.

On any weekend across the country we see hundreds of thousands of young Australian kids, youths and adults playing sport of one kind or another. We need to encourage and increase this level of participation in all our communities and promote our ideals of sportsmanship. It is this interaction, this social fabric in our communities, that is important and, coupled with the admiration we have for our sporting stars, it makes it so vital that the issue of drugs in sport be treated seriously.

I noted with interest the comments in yesterday’s Australian newspaper regarding this very issue. It seems that the National Rugby League is unhappy that the Howard government is taking a strong stance against the use of so-called recreational drugs by our sports men and women. Their argument, which is flimsy at best, is that the proposed ASADA should focus only on performance-enhancing drugs and that the use of other drugs should be dealt with by the various sporting bodies such as the NRL. This is, frankly, a nonsensical position for anyone to take. While Mr Gallop, the head of the NRL, says that the rationale for the introduction of ASADA is to stop cheating, I believe, and I think most Australians would agree, that ASADA has a wider role—that is, to set standards with respect to all drug use in sport. Surely the use by athletes of illegal drugs, whether or not we call them recreational, is just as damaging to them, their sport and our country’s reputation as the use of performance-enhancing drugs. All sports men and women and their sporting organisations must take a strong leadership role in this.

In Australia, our young people hold their sporting heroes in awe. The example set by athletes has a profound effect on the youth of our nation. I for one am pleased that ASADA will be taking an active role in ensuring that athletes using illegal drugs will be shown to be a poor example for our children. I am surprised that the NRL has not welcomed the Howard government’s move to eliminate the use of all illegal drugs in sport. I am also surprised and disappointed that the NRL, amongst others, believes that the proposed ASADA has too much power to investigate and prosecute drug use in sport. Mr Gallop’s suggestion that the NRL tribunal should continue to investigate and prosecute drug cheats seems to ignore the principles of arms-length investigation and fails to recognise the need for stringent, consistent, nationwide standards with regard to drug use in sport.

The Howard government recognises the importance of sport in Australia and the need for Australian sports men and women to compete fairly in domestic and international sporting competitions. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Bill provides for the creation of a body—the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority—which will replace the current Australian Sports Drug Agency. The new ASADA will perform all the functions of the old ASDA in relation to drug testing, education and advocacy. But it will also carry out important additional functions, such as investigating potential sports doping violations; presenting cases against an athlete or support person alleged to have committed an antidoping rule violation, at hearings conducted by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport and other sports tribunals; determining mandatory antidoping rules to be included in Australian Sports Commission funding agreements with sports; and advising the Australian Sports Commission of the performance of sports in observing these requirements.

ASADA will also incorporate the current Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee. ASADA will be governed by a board consisting of a chair, a deputy chair and from one to five members. A quorum will consist of the chair and two other members. The chair is the head of the agency and will exercise some of the corporate governance functions independently of the board. The board will have a decision making role in relation to ASADA’s regulatory function—it will decide on matters regarding ASADA’s testing investigations and hearings functions. ASADA will be responsible for overseeing the National Anti-Doping Scheme, which will initially be outlined in regulations developed alongside the ASADA Bill. The National Anti-Doping Scheme will thereafter be further developed and refined by ASADA in consultation with stakeholders in the sporting community.

The National Anti-Doping Scheme will set out the specific processes and protocols to be employed in implementing the World Anti-Doping Code and the UNESCO International Convention Against Doping in Sport. ASADA will be responsible for monitoring the compliance of sports bodies and sports administration bodies with their obligations under the NAD scheme. ASADA will notify the Australian Sports Commission of the extent of compliance by sports bodies and will publish reports on the same. Failure to comply is not dealt with in the ASADA Bill but, rather, will be set out in the Australian Sports Commission funding agreements.

ASADA will also have access to Customs information in certain prescribed circumstances. This is similar to previous amendments to the Australian Sports Commission Act 1989. ASADA may also authorise the disclosure of that information to sporting organisations, under a prescribed set of circumstances. The ASADA Bill specifies permitted antidoping purposes for which disclosures may occur. The disclosures must be in the course of investigating possible doping breaches; determining whether to take action over such breaches, and the consequences of such breaches; or taking action, or participating in proceedings, in response to such breaches.

The ASADA Bill specifies trusted persons, generally ASADA members and staff and designated associates, who may receive information. It also specifies penalties of up to two years imprisonment for the improper disclosure of protected information.

The ASADA Bill also allows ASADA to disclose information to the Australian Federal Police under appropriate circumstances. The Australian Federal Police disclosure to ASADA is facilitated through its own act, the Australian Federal Police Act 1979.

The ASADA Bill contains specific and detailed provisions protecting athlete’s rights and carries over existing safeguards under the ASDA Act. It provides for appeals by athletes to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and for complaints by athletes to be brought to the attention of the Ombudsman.

Importantly, there is strong support among sporting organisations for the creation of ASADA. This was emphasised in submissions to the government’s discussion paper. I repeat: the issue of drugs in sport must be treated seriously, given the public recognition, admiration and community profile many of our sporting stars receive. Indeed, many of our top-flight sporting stars are hero-worshipped by the young and the youth of our great country. They must comply with society’s expectation of our sporting elite.

Within the electorate of Hasluck, I think it is very important that we set the benchmarks and appreciate the need to encourage and support young people in sport in our schools and through our different sporting associations, whatever that sport may be—whether it be rugby union, Australian rules football, hockey, tennis, athletics, swimming, netball or basketball. We must not be seen to be supporting the use of drugs. Illegal drugs in any form are just not acceptable, and performance-enhancing drugs are not fair in competition. We must ensure we continue to recognise those issues in our sporting endeavours.

Sport is built on the principles of honour, fairness, sacrifice, discipline and sportsmanship, as I said earlier. Those principles must be fundamental to the way we encourage our young people into sporting activities and commitment to those sports. In a competitive environment the challenge is for people who are highly motivated and wish to win. We must make sure that that is balanced with the need for them to be fit and committed to the healthy pursuit of their sport in an appropriate way and not encourage—and make sure we are not seen to be encouraging—people to take performance-enhancing drugs or any other drugs to improve performance. The use of performance-enhancing drugs, indeed any drugs, flies in the face of these principles and is totally unacceptable.

These bills, and the Howard government’s policy on doping in sport, have been developed with the full involvement of sporting organisations and athletes in Australia. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority bills reflect the Howard government’s commitment, domestically and internationally, to eliminating doping and drug use in sport. I commend the bills to the House.

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