At the August Council meeting, Council supported my and Cr Drieberg’s recommendation to express concern that the state government’s smoking reforms fall well short of the Monash community’s expectations. This is because the proposed reforms fail to prevent smoking in outdoor drinking areas and create various loopholes which might be exploited to allow smoking in outdoor dining areas to continue.
We are particularly concerned that outdoor eating areas like Kingsway in Glen Waverley and Eaton Mall in Oakleigh will not become smoke free as the overwhelming majority of the Monash community wants and expects.
Council has resolved that that unless the state government removes these loopholes, Council will use its powers to ensure that all outdoor dining areas on public space in Monash are 100% smoke free from 1 August 2017 including in particular, Eaton Mall in Oakleigh and Kingsway in Glen Waverley.
The dangers of passive smoke
Smoking in outdoor areas is a critical public health issue for Victoria.
Creating smoke-free environments is important in reducing the harms associated with tobacco, preventing chronic disease and achieving greater health outcomes for Victorian communities. But it is also about stopping one person’s disgusting and filthy habit from having an impact on other people. In the same way as we expect government to appropriately regulate noise, pollution and other nuisances, the Victorian community overwhelming expects that government will address the impact of passive smoke on other people.
The Tobacco Amendment Bill 2016, that will make amendments to the Tobacco Act 1987, has been read in Parliament for the second time by the Minister for Health.
The changes proposed by the Minister for Health fall well short of community expectations in that it separates outdoor dining areas, where smoking will be prohibited, from outdoor drinking areas, which will not be covered by new smoking bans.
There is strong community support for smoking reform with 75 per cent of Monash residents and 73 per cent of Victorians supporting the introduction of a ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas – the community rightfully expects that smoking should also be banned in drinking areas. The proposed reforms are due to commence on 1 August 2017.
Tobacco smoking is the leading single preventable cause of disease and death in Victoria, costing 4,000 lives and $5 billion each and every year. The less people smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke, the greater the health benefits for local communities.
Victoria lags the nation
The anticipated implementation of the roll-out of smoking bans by the state government has fallen well behind the other states. At present Western Australia, New South Wales, the ACT and even Queensland and the Northern Territory all have state legislation in place that prohibits smoking in specific outdoor public spaces including al fresco dining. Victoria’s state legislation prohibiting smoking in outdoor areas does not yet extend to outdoor dining and drinking areas. This is embarrassing given Victoria’s rich history of being at the vanguard – not the tail – of progressive social reform.
Indeed, every Australian state and territory, with the exception of Victoria, have either implemented a smoking ban in outdoor dining areas (including liquor-licensed premises) or announced a date when they will implement a ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas.
In the absence of Victorian state legislation, there has been a growing trend for local governments to introduce smoke-free local laws in outdoor dining areas. In 2011, Baw Baw Shire Council became the first Victorian Council to implement smoke-free policy in outdoor dining areas. Melbourne City Council has made nine outdoor areas in the central city smoke-free including The Causeway, Howey Place, Block Place, Equitable Place, Goldsbrough Lane, QV Melbourne, City Square and more recently, the Tan and Princes Park running tracks. However, while some councils have already taken steps to introduce smoking bans in outdoor dining areas on a piecemeal basis because of the absence in leadership at a state level, many councils (including Monash Council) have preferred a state-wide approach be taken so it applies uniformly and consistently across all of Victoria rather than with significant local variance. This seems the most logical way to advance this reform in the interests of public health across the whole state and so that traders in different communities are not impacted differently.
The state government’s watered-down reforms
The Victorian State government announced that smoking will be banned in outdoor dining areas from 1 August 2017. The proposed ban will be applied to all outdoor dining areas when meals are available for consumption. This will include premises such as restaurants, cafes, takeaway shops and licenced premises, including courtyard dining areas and footpath dining. Other areas where meals are not consumed will be referred to as outdoor drinking areas. In these areas the consumption of snacks will be available to encourage safe drinking practices and smoking will be permitted within these areas so long as the area is less than 75% enclosed.
Matters that require clarification about the application of the new bans include whether or not an area can be considered an outdoor dining area at certain times (say between midday and 2:00pm) and an outdoor drinking area at other times.
Clarification is also needed about how the bans will apply in footpath areas where an outdoor dining area adjoins an outdoor drinking area operated by another proprietor.
Regardless of how the bans may apply the fact that people will continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in outdoor areas is entirely unacceptable and inconsistent with what the community now expect.
Monash Council’s advocacy on smoking reform
Monash Council has proudly been a leader in actively developing initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence of smoking and smoking related harm in the community and enforcing the provisions of the Tobacco Act 1987.
In 2007, Monash was the first council in Victoria to introduce a ban on smoking near playgrounds which came into operation on 1 July 2007 (Local Law 3A known as the Recreation Local Law 2007). This ban now applies across Victoria.
This decision was the culmination of an extensive public consultation process to determine which Council-owned public spaces were supported by the wider City of Monash community to become smoke-free.
Council seeks to further protect the community from the dangers of passive smoking and has long advocated for the expansion of smoke-free areas and state-wide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas. In recent times, Monash Council has been a prominent advocate for a state-wide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas:
- on 30 March 2011, then-Monash Mayor Greg Male wrote to the then-Premier, Ted Baillieu, requesting legislation be introduced to ban smoking in outdoor dining areas. Unfortunately Mr Baillieu did not respond;
- in December 2012, Council determined to write to the Premier of Victoria, the Minister for Health and local Members of Parliament, requesting the introduction of State legislation to ban smoking in alfresco dining and drinking areas;
- on 10 January 2013, then-Monash Mayor Micaela Drieberg wrote again to Premier Baillieu, referencing Cr Male’s letter of 30 March 2011, and again seeking the state-wide introduction of a ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas. She also wrote similar letters to the Minister for Health and to local MPs representing Monash;
- in 2014 and as Mayor, I labelled the then Minister for Health, David Davis, the Minister for Passive Smoke for his lack of action on this
issue; - in August 2014, I welcomed Mr Davis’ announcement that a reelected Napthine Government would ban smoking in outdoor dining locations if re-elected;
- on 16 February 2015, then-Monash Mayor Paul Klisaris wrote to Health Minister Jill Hennessy, asking her to prioritise the timely introduction of a state-wide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas following the government’s pre-election commitment of introducing a state-wide ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas. The Minister responded on 26 February 2015 with no
commitments; - in July 2015, at the MAV Councillor Development Weekend, I asked Mr Davis (the Shadow Minister for Local Government) about the opposition’s policy on this issue and he confirmed that the opposition remained strongly supportive of a state-wide ban and he criticised the government for not doing anything to advance the matter since being elected in November 2014; and
- on 25 August 2015, Council was to consider submitting a motion to the State Council of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) to advocate to the state government to expand current smoke free laws, however this was lapsed on the basis that the state government made an announcement two days prior to this meeting that it would implement a state-wide ban on smoking in outdoor eating areas.
When the new smoking legislation comes into effect on 1 August 2017, smoking may be permitted in outdoor dining areas outside of meal serving
times and in designated drinking areas.
This will be an unsatisfactory outcome for Monash as we have long been advocating on behalf of our community for entirely smoke free outdoor dining and drinking areas.
Council has resolved to write to the Minister for Health, Ms Jill Hennessy to strongly advocate for a comprehensive ban that will ensure smoke free outdoor dining and drinking areas are consistent with the expectations of our community.
Failing this, Council has resolved to proceed to take its own action locally to make outdoor dining areas in Monash like Kingsway and Eaton Mall in Oakleigh smoke free.
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