Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the chamber for the opportunity to speak on this very important bill, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment Bill 2009. At the outset I congratulate the Minister for Sport, the Hon. Kate Ellis, for her role in bringing this to the parliament and ensuring that the good work that has been done by the Sports Anti-Doping Authority is continued into the future and that in fact it continues to improve as it has done for many years. So I congratulate her for her good work in that particular area.

This is an important bill. Although it is a matter of just some governance changes and some minor amendments and a number of realignments of roles and so forth, all the while it is very important in terms of the way that ASADA actually operates given that it currently exists under what is best described as a hybrid governance model which is subject to a number of acts, particularly the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997. While ASADA has been functioning well, the way it is currently structured and governed and the way the board operates means that there have been a number of internal and structural issues when it comes to decision-making and some confusion as to people’s specific roles or the direction that the board or the organisation actually takes. This is a sensible move forward and I understand the opposition fully support these changes in the bill. We welcome that, because Australia does have a strong reputation for anti-doping in sports and I believe it is important that we continue to build on that reputation and make sure that we continue the good work that has been done to protect sports and sports people and to ensure that the image of sports in Australia is of clean sports without the use of performance enhancing drugs or other drugs.

This legislative change has come about via a review that was commissioned by the Department of Health and Ageing. It found that there were difficulties with the hybrid model of governance that I mentioned earlier, that in itself created some problems, particularly to the extent of authority that was available to non-executive members in the performance of their duties under the ASADA Act. These governance changes will correct that and remove that uncertainty that existed. Basically what the changes to the ASADA Act will mean is the abolition of the positions of ASADA chair and ASADA members. This of course has been done in consultation with those members and they are aware of the impending changes.

The bill will create a new chief executive officer position to fulfil the head of agency role and it will also establish a new independent anti-doping rule violation panel to make sure that decisions on anti-doping rule violations, previously the responsibility of ASADA members, are carried forward and there is a proper way for that to happen. It will also establish an advisory group as part of a consultative forum for the CEO on various matters, such as testing, education, investigations and so forth. There will also be some small incidental changes to align the ASADA Act more closely with changes to the world anti-doping code that came into effect on 1 January this year. So it will align our internal efforts and internal governance within Australia with what is happening on the global stage.

Change will also mean that the method for amending the regulations covering ASADA’s operational activities will provide the parliament with greater scrutiny. I know that there are many members of parliament that are very interested in what takes place in anti-doping activities in sport, particularly in Australia, given that we all believe in a strong stance in this area and given that we want to maintain our reputation as a country that produces sportspeople who are free of drugs, and teams free of drug cheats.

The changes that we are proposing will come into effect on 1 January next year. The amendments that we are proposing do not have a financial impact. As I said earlier, I want to congratulate the Minister for Sport for taking this one. While I understand that there is cross chamber acceptance of the changes, it is good to see that it was she who brought these changes in. It is important legislation. While it is minor in some respects, putting Australia at the forefront of global change in anti-doping activities is important. We all want to get rid of drug cheats in sport. They have no place in sport at any level, be it an individual or team level, a club level or an elite level. Drugs cheating is a dangerous practice, both in terms of a country’s reputation and a sport’s reputation, but also from a health perspective for individual sportspeople.

It is important to note in this debate that these changes will not have any adverse effect on any anti-doping activities that are currently taking place. We are making sure that there will be transitional measures in place to enable the continuity of some key activities that are going on right now—in particular, any decisions relating to any anti-doping rule violations that are in the process of being taken.

Everybody in this House agrees that there is no place for drug cheats in sport at any level, and particularly not at the elite level where people are representing their country. In what some people would describe as a sports mad country, it is fairly important that we take a strong anti-doping stance and that we have a system that matches that stance. It is a pretty widely held view in the community as well. People want to see fair competition and people competing on their merits and not on their ability to take drugs. The potential health risks involved in the taking of either short- or long-term performance-enhancing drugs are worthy of note. We have seen these risks over a number of years in elite sports, with highly talented individuals who have decided to use performance-enhancing drugs often having health problems or taking other drugs. Not only does that affect their ability over the long term, it can also quite substantially shorten their lives. We have seen a number of high-profile deaths over the years relating directly to the harmful use of drugs.

There is an important role for every country to play in making sure that we protect athletes from the pressures that are placed on them when they compete at those elite levels. That is something that we need to acknowledge in this debate: the pressure that is placed on people to continue to perform better and better; to continue to lift; to perform with incredible levels of stamina, fitness or strength; to perform feats beyond the ordinary human being. We have seen that in particular sports, be it football, handball or one of my favourite sports, cycling, where we have seen lots of controversies over the years in world-renowned events such as the Tour de France and others. It always saddens me when I see such controversies because I see the damage that is being done to those sports through the use of drugs. I also see the damage that is being done to ordinary people who participate in those sports when the sport is tarnished with the image of being a drug-cheating sport. This is not isolated to the cycling world. We have seen it occur in the weightlifting world and a whole range of other sports at the Olympics.

It is really important that governments and countries take it upon themselves to do everything they can to ensure that they have the right regulatory frameworks in place. Anti-doping bodies need the right governance, the right structures and the right funding. A strong message also needs to be sent out so that young people in particular do not fall into bad habits or traps early, because that often leads them into some poor practices later in life. Again, I congratulate the Australian government for continuing the commitment to fight against doping—performance enhancing drugs in sport—and for doing that through a range of methods such as detection and through looking at the different opportunities where these drugs can be taken.

The bill before us today, as I said, reflects part of an independent review that was done at the end of last year. The change that we are putting forward is part of a central implementation agency for anti-doping efforts in Australia which will effect its key responsibilities in detecting drug cheats and, through education programs, in discouraging athletes from taking drugs through testing, through investigations and, of course, essentially through enforcement. You have to enforce it at some point. You have to take a tough stance, and sometimes that is done at the high-profile end to send the message back down the line. I strongly believe that this is the right direction in which to go and that we have to send out the right signals. Australia is a leader in this area, and it ought to continue its very good efforts.

There will be some costs associated with the establishment of the new anti-doping review panel and also the advisory group, including member remuneration and some secretarial expenses and so forth. But it will be money well spent. The associated costs will be determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, which is the appropriate place for these things to be done. While the positions of ASADA members are being abolished as part of these changes, as I said before, they will still have a role to play through participation on the interim review panel. Outgoing members who possess the right skills will be eligible for permanent appointment to the new panel or to the advisory group, and members have been consulted on this.

Australia has been renowned for setting a very high bar in this area. We certainly make no apology in terms of that. Our good reputation needs to be continually strengthened, and this bill will do that. I am particularly heartened by the view that we are not operating alone in this area. While our good efforts are unique to Australia, it is important that we align our efforts with those of the rest of the world, given that elite sport is played on a global stage and not just in our own backyards. At the same time, we need to make sure that we protect the rights and privacy of athletes and that we do things the right way.

When this bill takes effect, a number of new positions will be created and some older positions will be abolished. The bill will provide the new body with a governance framework to operate properly. It will remove any of the confusion that previously existed and ensure that anti-doping continues to be a central plank in Australia’s approach to sport and that Australia continues to be at the forefront of anti-doping measures around the world. It will ensure that, when our athletes compete, they will be confident that the athletes whom they compete against are not drug cheats and that there is a level playing field. Our athletic champions, our sports people, will know that all their hard work and effort over many, many years can be rewarded appropriately by competing against people who are not cheating the system and who are not on drugs. I commend the bill to the House.

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