Page 2087 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 9 September 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The amendments to this Bill are much more sensible than the Bill that Mr Moore introduced. This is a far better way of going about it. To make a criminal out of a young person is a serious thing. It stops them getting a job later on in life in many spheres. We all know that to be caught with a marijuana cigarette and to be taken to court and fined $40 is absolutely nothing, but you then walk away with a criminal record because you did something once. It does not mean to say that people are going to do it again. Please God, they do not do it again.
We should spend more money on education in schools, starting at kindergarten, about the danger of drugs - not only the illegal drugs but also alcohol and cigarettes. We do not really seem to be doing very much about alcohol and cigarettes, which are far more dangerous to our society. They cost us a fortune in health treatment and time off jobs with alcohol related problems and with cigarette related problems. Not only are people who smoke cigarettes on their way to killing themselves; we who do not smoke but who have to sit in areas where smoking is allowed have to put up with passive smoking. I notice that that is getting through to somebody in the Liberal Party who I understand is a smoker, and it is not making them very happy.
I think that these are far more serious drugs and I would like to see more time and attention put into them by the Liberal Party. Let us see how serious they are. Let the community hear what they think we should be doing about those drugs. If we were able to do something about the legal drugs, then maybe we would not have to worry about hard drugs. The people I spoke to about drugs on my trip said that young people start with cigarettes and alcohol and then that leads to hard drugs. Young people do not start with hard drugs. They start smoking, then they get onto alcohol, and then they eventually get onto harder drugs, sniffing things and doing things that are a lot more serious.
Mr Cornwell: Then they join the Labor Party, Ellnor.
MRS GRASSBY: No. After they have been in the Liberal Party and found out what a fake that is, they come and join a good party - the party that believes in the rights of people.
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (11.37): I must say that I have been rather fascinated with the debate. I thought that Mrs Grassby's defence of the Labor position was quite fatuous. I listened to other members defending the Labor Party position on this. But let me ask this question: Why are we debating the Labor Party's amendments? This is not an initiative of the Labor Party. Mr Moore brought up this Bill. If Mr Moore had not brought this Bill forward, the Labor Party would not even be here talking about this issue. They would not be putting forward their amendments to try to fix the holes they perceive in Mr Moore's Bill. These Labor people are taking this sanctimonious attitude about this issue, but they did not even bring the matter forward. They saw no need for this. Now they are on the back foot. They are on the back foot because Mr Moore precipitated the debate that they did not want. Now they are being sanctimonious about their attitude towards this matter.
When we really get down to the facts of the matter we see the Labor Party position for what it is - it is a panic reaction. They have been forced to take a position on a matter that they did not even want to debate. If they wanted to take this socially just action that they have been defending, why did they not
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .