Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

A peak sportswoman or -man who has devoted their life to their sport, who has made sacrifices in their social life and family life to dedicate time to their sport does not want to come second to someone who has enhanced their performance with drugs. Many and varied substances have been used to enhance athletic performance for literally centuries. Most sports introduced some form of drug testing during the 1970s to attempt to combat substance abuse in the modern sporting environment. However, testing regimes to identify drugs have consistently lagged behind (Quorum formed) the development and introduction of new substances such as anabolic steroids. During the 1990s, governments and international authorities considered various policies and actions to combat the increasing use of drugs in sport, but a major problem appeared to be that these efforts were uncoordinated.

In an effort to rectify the situation, in 1999 the International Olympic Committee convened a world conference on sports doping. As a result of this conference, the World Anti-Doping Agency was established later that year. WADA developed the World Anti-Doping Code, which applies to all athletes and to all those who assist athletes in their preparation for international sporting participation. All national Olympic committees and international sports federations are required to sign this code. As governments were not bound by the WADC, in October 2005 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted the International Convention against Doping in Sport. Parties to this convention, to which Australia was an early signatory, are required to implement the WADC. The WADC applies to anyone who participates in sport at the international or national level, or at lower levels of competition, as well as to athlete support persons including coaches, agents, managers and medical personnel. This bill amends the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 to align that act with the revised World Anti-Doping Code and international standards that will come into force on 1 January 2015.

The revisions have been based on a number of themes. This bill specifically addresses the targeting of athlete support personnel who are involved in doping, the imposition of longer periods of ineligibility and the placing of additional emphasis on information management to accommodate WADA's move towards the greater use of investigation and information-gathering in the detection of drug cheats.

The Australian government has been proactive in the fight against drugs in sport. In 1990 it established an independent statutory agency, the Australian Sports Drug Agency or ASDA, to deal with drug testing and drug education. However, as ASDA was not empowered to deal with issues relating to possession of, or trafficking in, prohibited substances or methods, it was replaced in 2006 by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, or ASADA, and that body was given more power to deal with drug use in sport.

The ASADA Act sets out issues that must be addressed in the National Anti-Doping Scheme. This bill will require the scheme to authorise the CEO of ASADA to commence operation of a new antidoping rule violation—the prohibited association violation. This means it will be a violation for an athlete or support person to associate, in a professional or sport related capacity, with a person who is serving a period of ineligibility as the result of a decision by an antidoping organisation such as ASADA. The scheme will be required to authorise the CEO of ASADA to notify the athlete or support person that his or her association with another person may constitute a code violation.

The bill will add to the current practice for ASADA to report on its website the details of a finalised violation by requiring the CEO of the agency to maintain a public record known as the violations list—basically, naming and shaming. The bill will also provide a domestic means through which an athlete who has been denied access to a therapeutic use exemption—which allows athletes to use essential medical treatment without being guilty of a violation, such as when asthmatics use Ventolin— (Quorum formed) Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker; no thank you to those opposite! The bill will also provide a domestic means through which an athlete who has been denied access to a therapeutic use exception—which allows athletes to use essential medical treatment without being guilty of a violation, such as when asthmatics use Ventolin—to seek a review of a refusal. It basically introduces an appeal process. It is intended that this will occur as the result of the appointment of additional members of the Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee, whose sole purpose will be to review decisions.

This bill is intended to facilitate better information sharing across relevant authorities while providing certain limitations on the release of information. This will address the issues of proportionality in disclosure and of human rights, which were of concern in drafting the new WADA code.

It is important that Australia maintains its strong stance on antidoping in sport by aligning with the revised international standards. The Australian government understands the importance of protecting the integrity of sport. I commend this bill to the House and wish our athletes at every level the very best for future drug-free success.

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