Page 2297 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 3 August 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
current suite of laws, including the criminal sanction, have been working effectively, with 192 people referred.
The ACT Law Society said:
The bill will have minimal effect on driving drug users from the criminal justice system.
It is not just me saying it; it is the police and the legal fraternity. The people that are actually on the front line are saying, “This will not actually do what you think it will do.” It will not take those drug users from the criminal justice system. The Law Society said:
The bill will have minimal effect on driving drug users from the criminal justice system.
But what it will do, when you listen to police, is roll out the welcome mat for organised crime. The bill is trying to solve a problem that currently does not exist. In doing so, it will create other significant problems. That is what the Law Society is saying; that is what the police are saying.
If you take away the potential for prosecution and jail, how many addicted heroin and meth addicts will now voluntarily access those drug treatment services? It is quite clear that that part of the suite of legislation, the criminal aspect, is important. As the Assembly committee inquiry showed, in the first page or so, drug use is actually on the decline in Canberra, so the suite of current policies is proving to be effective. The gaps in the system that were identified, again, in the committee inquiry, are not actually in drug enforcement; they are in the drug treatment services, which are woefully and inadequately resourced and staffed. Waiting times are long, and only about half of the people seeking treatment can access services. That came out in the committee inquiry.
With respect to decriminalisation, if it does what you think it will do, and if we see people coming from interstate, and availability of drugs going up—availability is the mother of usage—it will put even greater strain on already overstretched drug treatment services by making those drugs more available. This will be compounded by the large amount of drugs that are currently being proposed by Mr Pettersson, and certainly in Mr Davis’s amendments. If it is put into regulation, I will wait to see the regulation from the minister.
The impact on road safety has also been highlighted. The Australian Federal Police Association made the point that if there are more people affected by drugs, they will be driving on our roads. When people are driving, and are affected by drugs like heroin or MDMA, you need only to look at today’s paper, to media reports, to see the tragic consequences that can have. Tom, I am sure, can attest to that, if any of you want to speak to him about his terribly tragic personal story. Of course, that would stretch our police, who are already stretched, even further. It puts increased pressure on them.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video