Page 3406 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 October 2022
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use drugs as the authors of their own misfortune. It gives us tacit permission to turn a blind eye to the factors driving most problematic drug use: trauma, childhood abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, homelessness, dispossession, entrenched social disadvantage, mental illness, loneliness, despair and many other marginalising circumstances that attend the human condition. This is a profound flaw in our approach to illicit drug policy.
The evidence is there.
I am proud to be part of this government taking the brave steps, the evidence-based policy steps, needed for this reform. I was very pleased to see dedicated funding in the budget for targeted treatment for methamphetamine addiction. There are a couple of key aspects of the reform that I think are worth noting.
Targeting the supply and manufacture of illicit drugs is a priority of ACT Policing; supporting, resourcing and funding police to do this critical job is essential. It is essential that police target drug traffickers. There have been some significant charges laid for drug trafficking and organised crime lately, and I commend ACT Policing for their commitment and dedication to keeping our community safe.
I also think it is important to recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are disproportionally represented in our criminal justice system and in our prison. Drug and alcohol dependency forms a part of this story. This is why it is critical that the ACT government invest in Aboriginal community-controlled, culturally safe facilities and programs.
The ACT government recognises this and is working with Winnunga Nimmityjah to develop a dedicated residential alcohol and other drug rehabilitation facility for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here in the ACT. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled facility will promote rehabilitation and recovery in a culturally safe and inclusive environment. This is currently in the design and commissioning phase. This is a project that has huge potential. I intend to follow it closely, along with other government policy and programs to end the disproportionate, systemic disadvantage that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience in our ACT community.
In ending my speech today, I cannot express enough how much I believe in and support this reform. I believe it offers hope for the future for many Canberrans. So many times, with complex social problems, we say something needs to happen. Today and over the time that this bill is debated, something significant is happening. I support this bill and the government amendments.
MR CAIN (Ginninderra) (11.02): I rise to speak against this bill, without going necessarily into the details of the coming amendments. As Dr Paterson alluded to, I also have significant background on this issue and this piece of legislation, as chair of the select committee inquiring into Mr Pettersson’s bill. I remind members and also those tuning in that my dissenting report is available on the Assembly website, under the select committee. I commend that committee dissenting report, and I stand by it today.
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