FOR the GREATER GOOD, but at WHAT COST? Final Report of the Select Committee on Personal Choice and Community Safety
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40TH PARLIAMENT COMMUNITY SAFETY: FOR THE GREATER GOOD, BUT AT WHAT COST? Final Report of the Select Committee on Personal Choice and Community Safety Presented by Hon Aaron Stonehouse MLC (Chair) May 2020 Select Committee on Personal Choice and Community Safety Members as at the time of this inquiry: Hon Aaron Stonehouse MLC (Chair) Hon Dr Sally Talbot MLC (Deputy Chair) Hon Dr Steve Thomas MLC Hon Rick Mazza MLC Hon Pierre Yang MLC Staff as at the time of this inquiry: Denise Wong (Advisory Officer (Legal)) David Graham (Committee Clerk) Irina Lobeto-Ortega (Advisory Officer (Legal)) Address: Parliament House 4 Harvest Terrace, West Perth WA 6005 Telephone: 08 9222 7300 Email: [email protected] Website: www.parliament.wa.gov.au ISBN 978-1-925578-91-1 Government response This report is subject to Standing Order 191(1): Where a report recommends action by, or seeks a response from, the Government, the responsible Minister or Leader of the House shall provide its response to the Council within not more than 2 months or at the earliest opportunity after that time if the Council is adjourned or in recess. The two-month period commences on the date of tabling. CONTENTS Executive summary .................................................................................................................................. i 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1 Establishment of the Committee and this inquiry .........................................................................................1 Committee procedure ...............................................................................................................................................2 Structure of the report ..............................................................................................................................................2 Important concepts when discussing personal choice ................................................................................3 Recent inquiries into personal choice and community safety issues ..................................................... 5 2 Mandatory bicycle helmet laws .................................................................................................... 8 History of mandatory bicycle helmet laws in Australia ................................................................................8 Cycling participation in Australia ..........................................................................................................................9 How are bicycle helmets regulated in other jurisdictions? ...................................................................... 12 How are bicycle helmets regulated in Western Australia? ...................................................................... 16 Evidence heard during the Committee’s inquiry ......................................................................................... 18 Committee’s conclusions on mandatory bicycle helmet laws ................................................................ 30 3 E-cigarettes ................................................................................................................................... 32 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 32 What are e-cigarettes? ........................................................................................................................................... 33 Smoking rates in Australia .................................................................................................................................... 35 Which international jurisdictions allow the sale and use of e-cigarettes? ........................................ 38 How e-cigarettes are regulated across Australia ......................................................................................... 40 How e-cigarettes are regulated in Western Australia ............................................................................... 41 Potential injury risks due to lack of regulatory controls ........................................................................... 51 Potential health risks—is it safe to inhale vapour from e-liquid? ......................................................... 54 Classification of e-cigarettes as consumer and/or therapeutic products .......................................... 56 E-cigarettes in New Zealand: a different approach .................................................................................... 62 Recent evidence linking e-cigarettes to severe lung illness ................................................................... 64 Committee’s conclusions on regulating e-cigarettes in Western Australia ...................................... 67 4 Vehicle modifications in Western Australia .............................................................................. 69 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 69 Statutory regime for vehicle modifications in Western Australia ......................................................... 69 Committee’s conclusions on the process for modifying vehicles in Western Australia .............. 78 5 Safety in water .............................................................................................................................. 80 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 80 When is it mandatory to carry a lifejacket in Western Australia? ......................................................... 80 When is it mandatory to wear a lifejacket in Western Australia? ......................................................... 81 Current trial of mandatory lifejackets in Albany .......................................................................................... 83 Committee’s conclusions on mandatory use of lifejackets ..................................................................... 85 Committee comment on mandatory pool fencing ..................................................................................... 85 6 Assessment and scrutiny of regulatory reform ........................................................................ 89 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 89 Government assessment of the impact of regulatory reform ................................................................ 89 Parliamentary scrutiny of legislative reform—fundamental legislative principles ....................... 100 7 Committee’s final thoughts....................................................................................................... 104 Appendix 1 Stakeholders, submissions and public hearings ..................................................... 105 Appendix 2 Breakdown of submissions received ........................................................................ 111 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................ 112 Figures Figure 1 Categories of bicycle helmet submissions in 1994 .................................................................................. 9 Figure 2 Cycling participation as a proportion of resident population in 2017: WA and Australia ...... 11 Figure 3 Cycling participation as a proportion of resident population in 2019: WA and Australia ...... 12 Figure 4 World map of mandatory bicycle helmet laws. ...................................................................................... 13 Figure 5 Cycling participation as a proportion of resident population in 2017: NT and Australia ....... 14 Figure 6 Cycling participation as a proportion of resident population in 2019: NT and Australia ....... 15 Figure 7 People in Australia and WA who cycled to work on Census day between 1991 and 2016 .... 19 Figure 8 Age-adjusted and modelled rates of cyclist deaths, 1999-00 to 2015-16 ..................................... 24 Figure 9 Summary of potential effects of different segmentation approaches in Queensland ............... 30 Figure 10 Types of e-cigarettes ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Figure 11 Persons aged 18 years and over: proportion by current smoker status, 2001 to 2017-18 ... 36 Figure 12 Type 1 lifejacket information ...................................................................................................................... 84 Figure 13 The intervention ladder ................................................................................................................................. 99 Figure 14 Summary of fundamental legislative principles ................................................................................ 100 Tables Table 1 Rates of serious cycling injury on public roads in each Australian jurisdiction ............................. 16 Table 2 Number of persons issued an infringement notice for contravening regulations 222, 223A and 223 of the Road Traffic