Senator the Hon. George Brandis S.C.

Minister for the Arts and Sport

Melbourne Aquatic Centre, Saturday 6 October 2007

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[Acknowledgments]

Today Mr Pyne and I are announcing a series of important new measures which will take to a new level the Government’s fight against illicit drugs in sport.

As an indication of its commitment to addressing this problem, the Government will provide up to $21 million per annum to fund these new measures.

Sports who subscribe to the Government’s policy will receive funding to provide a regime for out-of-competition testing for illicit drugs.

As a condition of funding they will need to adopt the Government’s minimum standard of sanctions, which ensures there are sanctions for the first illicit drugs breach, more serious consequences for a second breach, including a compulsory period of disqualification, and, in the case of a third breach, potential lifetime disqualification.

Sports will also be required to adopt minimum standards for testing, management of results and education.

The scheme is voluntary and provides for 6000 illicit drugs tests per year to subscriber sports.

The policy we are announcing today will leave no one in doubt that the Government intends to respond to community anxiety about drug use by sportsmen with strong, effective and targeted measures.

The recent revelations of drug use by high profile players is unequivocal evidence that the current system is not working and we need to reform it with a common framework to which all sports can subscribe.

Over the past few months, Christopher Pyne, the Minister responsible for illicit drug policy and I, have met with the heads of a number of major national sporting organisations.

These including Swimming Australia, Cycling Australia, Basketball Australia, Football Federation of Australia , Cricket Australia, the Australian Rugby Union, the National Rugby League and the Australian Football League to discuss a range issues.

We received a very co-operative response from almost all of the sports with which we met.

On the basis of those discussions, the Government has developed a range of new measures to combat illicit drugs use by Australian sports men and women.

The Government will continue to work closely with sports to implement these measures and achieve good outcomes for individual sports.

This will take a little time to put a system in place, but I expect that funding could be made available as early as 1 July 2008.

The Government wants Australian sport to engage with the support of its players. Therefore, these measures include a period of grace before full implementation.

During this amnesty period, testing for illicit drugs may occur, but the sanctions policy will not apply. The focus will instead be on education, counselling and rehabilitation to help athletes change their behaviour.

The amnesty period will cease after 1 January 2009, at which point any positive test for illicit drugs out-of-competition will result in sanctions set out in the minimum standard.

The Government is determined, working in co-operation with national sporting organisations, to stamp out illicit drug use in Australian sport. Those who continue to break the law, and abuse their position as role models, are now well and truly on notice that illicit drug use in sport—in or out-of-competition—will not be tolerated.

The message could not be more simple. It is a message which the vast majority of Australian sportsmen and women already accept and live by. If you want to be an elite athlete, you can’t do drugs – on or off the field.

Government funding will target sports with the highest impact on the community and the highest profile players, including the major professional codes, although all sports are encouraged to adopt the policy.

Protecting the reputation and integrity of sport and sports role models demands a zero tolerance to illicit drug taking.

However, the sanctions regime is only part of the package. The new measures also include education, prevention and assistance to finding the right advice about rehabilitation and counselling.

These elements are essential components of any drug strategy and sport is no different. Some may say that it is not the business of sport to be clamping down on illicit drug use.

Those who say that have little understanding of the importance of sport in Australian culture, and the special – in many ways privileged – place of sports men and women in our national life. Just as sportsmen are among our most treasured national icons, so must they be among our respected national role models. Most of them are. A few are not. All of them can and should be.

The community expects the Government to support the development of sports men and women and assists them to compete domestically and internationally in elite and professional arenas – and the Government willingly does so. It also provides generous funding for all of the major sports. In return for that very significant investment, and as symbols of national pride, the community has every right to expect that these young men and women will obey the law. And, of course, the vast majority of them do. If most can, then all can.

With the implementation of this new framework, the Australian Government continues to be at the forefront of the fight against the use of drugs in sport, and against illicit drug use in our community.

We look forward to sporting bodies working with us to take the fight against drug use in sport to a new level.

Media contact: Travis Bell 0448 950 248