Page 4304 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 7 December 1993
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The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy is the peak body which reviews and determines national drug policies for Australia. It is made up of health and law enforcement Ministers from all Australian jurisdictions. The MCDS is responsible for ensuring a consistent, overall approach to drug related issues. Mr Moore and I have had some discussions on this issue and I think the position of the Government has always been pretty clear. Whilst we support, in general, the harm minimisation approach which Mr Moore advocates, it is, nevertheless, important that we do not forget where the ACT sits in the Australian context. We are small - there is no other description - and our influence is limited. Our influence is excellent; it is limited, nevertheless. We have not only to take our local community with us but also to ensure, if there are to be changes Australia-wide, that all of the Australian community goes with us. There are parts of Australia that do not see drug reform as something high on the agenda. There are people in this Territory who do not see it as being very high on the agenda.
I think the group that Mr Moore referred to is important in the sense that it improves the community debate about these issues and keeps the matter under the microscope, and I think that is a good thing. The ongoing debate over law reform for illegal drugs is attracting increasing attention, both nationally and internationally.
I am reading now, Mr Deputy Speaker, from the national drug strategy, a policy statement on the legal status of illicit drugs by the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy. It states:
The MCDS considers that there is no simple solution to this highly complex and emotive issue.
I think most people would agree. It goes on:
The MCDS believes that there is value in a considered debate, and accordingly restates its present policy, and the rationale behind it. It is an offence under Commonwealth, State and Territory law to manufacture, cultivate, sell, distribute, possess or use illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis.
That is a statement of fact. Whether we see that as the right course for the future is another matter, but it is not going to change overnight and I think we have to recognise that. The statement continues:
The MCDS, since its inception in 1985, has based its policy approach on the need to protect the health, safety and welfare of all Australians. The National Drug Strategic Plan 1993-97 details this policy approach and is the point of reference for the current position of MCDS members.
As part of that approach, MCDS policies incorporate the principle of harm minimisation which embraces the need to reduce the harmful effects, both social and health, of drug misuse.
The MCDS has married a policy of strict controls on drug supply (through legal means) with a policy of reducing the demand for drugs (through education and treatment programs) to achieve these aims.
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