Page 3488 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 October 2022
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Mr Davis’s amendment No 1 to Ms Stephen-Smith’s amendment No 9 agreed to.
Amendment, as amended, agreed to.
Clauses 7 to 12, as amended, agreed to.
Proposed new clause 12A.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Families and Community Services and Minister for Health) (5.35): I move amendment No 10 circulated in my name, which inserts a new clause 12A [see schedule 1 at page 3500].
This amendment establishes the drug diversion program in legislation. It has previously been an informal arrangement in relation to the Illicit Drug Diversion Program in the ACT. This will enable the minister to approve a drug diversion program as a notifiable instrument, which will give greater transparency in relation to what that program looks like; and, fingers crossed, it will satisfy some of Mr Hanson’s concerns that he expressed earlier.
MR HANSON (Murrumbidgee) (5.36): I do not particularly have a concern with it being notified; but, at the end of the day, we have now decided that you only need to turn up for the first session. It makes a bit of a mockery of it, doesn’t it?
Amendment agreed to.
MR DAVIS (Brindabella) (5.36): I move amendment No 4 circulated in my name, which inserts a new clause 12A [see schedule 3 at page 3507].
This amendment implements a legislative review mechanism which will give greater policy guidance as to the impacts of criminalisation. Over the course of reviewing this bill, as an Assembly we have seen the impact that the criminalisation of drugs has had—not just on users but on families too. This review mechanism stipulates that the minister must appoint an individual to undertake a review at a point no earlier than two years after the notification date of this bill.
Implementing this safeguard ensures that these families will not go unheard for yet another decade. We must learn from this process. We must listen to families, loved ones and individuals impacted by drug harm. This is why, in effect, these amendments will ensure due legislative scrutiny, by stipulating the review be undertaken by an independent contractor who has expertise in relation to people who use drugs. Additionally, these amendments ensure that the contractor in question must consult with the communities which are affected by drug use. It is my sincere hope that after this review is conducted, the minister, and others in government, will look again at the clear and evidence-based virtues of the other amendments that I have proposed today.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Families and Community Services and Minister for Health) (5.38): Labor will be supporting Mr Davis’s amendment No 4. It is
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