Page 3405 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 October 2022
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I am proud to be part of a Labor government that is driving this reform to lead Australia in how we support people in our community. I was deputy chair of the Legislative Assembly’s select committee inquiry into the drugs of dependence bill. The inquiry conducted by the committee provided valuable insights into the perspectives of a very broad range of stakeholders. I would like to, again, extend my sincere thanks to everyone who took time to participate. The inquiry examined the various provisions and related matters of the bill which we are debating today.
The committee received evidence of significant community support for the bill and substantial evidence from both researchers and those that deliver critical services, all in support of this reform. As a researcher in a previous career, I have been in the position of gathering and assessing evidence on a multitude of subjects and in a multitude of contexts. I can honestly say that the evidence base for decriminalising drugs was solid, it was clear and it was definitive in its overwhelming support of the bill. Sure, there is detail that is debatable. That is what we are doing today. This is why I am confident to stand here, as a member for Murrumbidgee, to provide my support for the bill and the proposed amendments.
Community concern about methamphetamine and heroin is real. Acknowledging this is important. I think it is fair to say that methamphetamine and heroin are considered to cause the most harm. This is why a health approach to personal drug use is most critical. The users of these drugs are the people who need the health response, who are most at risk and need a health intervention, not a criminal one. I would like to put again that the evidence is very strong for this approach.
Two of the most significant inquiries that have occurred in Australia, one at the federal level and one at the New South Wales level, have both focused significantly on methamphetamine use. I would like to point the Assembly to the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement 2018 inquiry into crystal methamphetamine, or ice. This was a national inquiry, the most significant in Australia. It was also an inquiry that brought a law enforcement lens, yet its final recommendation was:
The committee urges Australian governments to implement the recommendations … Improvements can and must be made in addressing methamphetamine use in Australia; in the committee’s opinion, this should be done by shifting the focus on methamphetamine from a law enforcement problem to a health issue within an environment where treatment and support are readily available and without stigmatisation.
The other most substantial work in Australia on methamphetamine use was the special inquiry commissioned in New South Wales. This is the 2020 report titled Report by the Special Commission of Inquiry into crystal-methamphetamine and other amphetamine-type stimulants. The findings of this significant work echo the federal government inquiry. I would like to read Commissioner Howard’s words summarising the inquiry:
The current stance of our criminal law towards use and possession of drugs has failed to have any significant impact on the prevalence of illicit drug use in NSW. Criminalising use and possession encourages us to stigmatise people who
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