Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is funny, isn't it? We grow up with many heroes, and most of them are in the sporting field whether they be top-line AFL footballers, whether they be the most elite of athletes, whether they be world-class basketballers, weightlifters or, dare I say it, cyclists. As previous speakers have quite correctly identified, there is nothing more shattering than to find that those in whom you have placed so much faith, trust and adoration are but hollow vessels when it comes to authenticity, integrity and honesty in their sport.

I have a very good friend who absolutely idolised Lance Armstrong. He had every bit of memorabilia you could find and read every book. There would not be a day that went by where there would not be a post on Facebook comparing the efforts of Lance Armstrong to many other efforts around the world, putting Lance Armstrong on this amazing pedestal. He stuck by Lance Armstrong for many years when people were alleging that this great sportsman in fact had an issue with performance-enhancing drugs. He stood by and defended him because he had everything invested in him as his idol. This adult—not a child—was shattered when it was finally confirmed and Lance Armstrong admitted he had been taking performance-enhancing drugs. An adult—a grown man—shattered by the dreams that he had.

I rise today to speak in support of the government's Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment Bill 2014. As all honourable members of this chamber know full well, the Australian government has long been a committed advocate of clean sport and strongly supports a fair, safe and healthy environment for all athletes at home and around the world. In a country that loves its sport, honours the pursuit of athletic excellence and values physical skills and ability, Australians everywhere have been increasingly aware and concerned about the growing linkages between drugs, result fixing and organised crime. One only has to peruse the sports pages of our national media to see how much everyday coverage is now being given to a subject which until only a relatively few years ago was highly unlikely ever to have been considered as anything other than an anomaly. Yet, alarmingly, a recent Sydney Morning Herald survey in February 2013 found that some 67 per cent of respondents were of the view now that athletes were most likely to use illegal substances.

In May 2013, The Australian newspaper reported in a story on football:

We are only now learning the full extent of "treatments" offered to footballers … In the rush to stay competitive some sportsmen are happy to play guinea pigs. For an insight into this mindset, consider this from AFL great Leigh Matthews: "If you ask any sportsmen, 'What do you want to be, a squeaky clean loser or a rule-bending winner?', they'll choose the latter every time."

The potential rewards from sporting success, combined with the availability of substances and techniques that are not easily detectable through testing, now clearly provide a temptation to too many.

Some sports have been more susceptible to doping in the past than others, but no sport and no country is immune. The World Anti-Doping Code, administered by sports bodies and governments around the world, has, by working together to implement harmonised anti-doping programs that are robust, effective and fair, long sought to ensure that regardless of nationality or sport athletes everywhere are subject to the same treatment and rules in the fight against doping in sport.

Since WADA was formed, we have seen the implementation of consistent anti-doping rules and regulations across all countries and all sports throughout the world. The first ever World Anti-Doping Code was implemented in 2004, and there are now over 660 signatories committed to this rule book. The UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport, which allowed governments to recognise and accept the code by way of international treaty, was ratified in record time. 176 countries, or 98 per cent of the world's population, have signed, allowing national governments to introduce measures to help rid their societies of doping. There is the annual list of prohibited substances and methods that WADA has been responsible for since the introduction of the code, and which is well recognised by the anti-doping community globally. In addition, there has been a move away from solely a culture of deterrence to an exploration of preventative measures. Education and athlete awareness are now staple parts of the anti-doping culture.

As a result of these measures, we are increasingly seeing cheats brought to account, not only through traditional scientific testing but also through long-term investigations. Yet the reality is that despite the substantial efforts and unrelenting commitments that have been undertaken both nationally and internationally in the fight against doping in sport the challenge to identify doping practices and stamp them out has continued to get tougher and tougher.

In response to these growing concerns, a comprehensive review of the World Anti-Doping Code was initiated in late 2011. In reviewing the code, there was a common recognition amongst anti-doping authorities that more and more sports are now operating in an environment that provides a greater incentive to cheat through doping. While athletes or athlete support personnel who have been found to have committed anti-doping rule violations have been subject to sanctions, such as ineligibility to compete and/or disqualification of results from sporting competitions, it was necessary to take further action to protect sports from those who orchestrate systemic doping programs. As a consequence, a number of key changes in the code were developed, including higher penalties for serious anti-doping rule violations, such as use of anabolic steroids; the addition of two new anti-doping rule violations; smarter targeting of testing of samples; the development of seamless information-sharing arrangements between relevant national and international government agencies and improved information flows with sporting organisations; and greater use of intelligence gathering and investigations in detection strategies.

Whether we like it or not, sport is big business. Winning is now not only about the glory of physical prowess—such as is the case with my boot camp leader behind me, the member for Bass!—but also, in many cases, about gaining substantial financial reward. It is more financially lucrative than sportsmen and sportswomen of our parents' generation could have ever imagined. And it is not just the athlete. It is now the trainer, the coach and the whole support team that are involved. The prizes for coming out on top of the pile are so great that some feel they should do anything to get there. Evidence has shown the athlete entourage is a crucial area for anti-doping. Behind each doper is a coach, a physician, a doctor or others, who may be actively assisting the athlete to dope. We have seen unscrupulous support teams encouraging naive young athletes to take short cuts. That is why WADA now wants to have support personnel included in anti-doping sanction processes.

As we all know, sports doping presents not only a serious risk to an athlete in their health and wellbeing, but is fundamentally an action of cheating, which ultimately serves to debase all that is good and valuable about sport. Cheating exists in all parts of society, and it would be naive to assume that no athletes would take shortcuts, particularly with the rewards at stake and with sport being as competitive as it is today. However, WADA has to make sure that the vast majority of athletes—those who are clean—are rewarded through their hard work and fair approach to their sport. As we all know, sports doping not only presents a serious risk to an athlete's health and wellbeing, but it is, fundamentally, an action of cheating. While there always will be those who will want to take shortcuts to succeed, we have a responsibility to ensure that the athlete's health must come first. We also want to send the message that cheating is not acceptable.

The Australian government agency responsible for working with sporting organisations to eliminate doping is the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, ASADA, whose powers and functions are specified under the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 and Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Regulations 2006. They are responsible for working with sporting organisations to eliminate doping and ensure that Australia's arrangements are in line with the World Anti-Doping Code, and that our athletes are working under the same rules.

This bill we will be debating today, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Amendment Bill 2014, will bring Australia's anti-doping legislation into alignment with the recently revised World Anti-Doping Code and the new international standards, which will come into force on 1 January 2015. The bill's provisions will ensure that Australia not only continues to effectively meet its obligation to contribute to a safe and fair sporting environment, but also better safeguards athletes' health and provides the fundamental values of sport that all Australians hold so dear.

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