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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 355 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

This is not what the Liberal Government in this place has done; quite the opposite. We have advanced an issue - an issue which causes members of the Liberal Party, members of the community, enormous concern - into the open for a full public debate. We have had the most extensive period of consultation on this heroin trial proposal that we have seen for any issue since self-government was inaugurated; we have had the most comprehensive and careful process of community consultation on that issue. That has not won this Government very many points in many quarters. It is an issue on which, overall, the Government stands to lose much more than it stands to gain, and it is a great pity that, when the chips are down, the people who matter in trying to make that a worthwhile exercise from the point of view of our whole community are not prepared to stand by us when we do that.

MS TUCKER (4.26): Mr Speaker, drug addiction is as much a health matter as a criminal matter or a moral issue, and I think it has to be stressed that that is the case. A lot of the discussion around this issue seems to be based on some simplistic moral view, which is obviously not particularly useful in finding a resolution. Drug addiction is also a symptom of a society that is in trouble, and I think we all have to take responsibility for this. People in governments or parliaments can take responsibility by looking at the whole-of-government approach to people who are in trouble.

This morning I talked about education and how it is coming out quite clearly in any research material on the issue that early intervention is far more successful than dealing with the crisis at the end. When we are talking about drug addiction, that is very relevant. We were talking this morning about education, for example, where it is quite clear, even in preschools, that particular children are very troubled. The research shows that they are the same children who in high school are causing the larger problems that older children cause. You can follow that through even with children who are isolated in schools, who are friendless. In Adelaide recently with the Social Policy Committee I was interested and saddened to hear that as many as 10 per cent of children are friendless at school. That has a very long-term impact on self-esteem, which is a big part of why people will become drug addicts or take on other self-destructive habits. They have such trouble coping with life. It is interesting to note that children who are victims of abuse, sexual or physical abuse, will be much more likely to have a drug addiction habit or be homeless or have a behavioural problem.

Once again, what we are seeing in this town is waiting lists for these fundamental services for young people. I would stress to the Government that this is fine, this is a useful initiative and we support it, of course, and welcome the report; but you cannot isolate that from the causes. If as a community we are going to take responsibility, we as law-makers or leaders need to show a depth of understanding of these issues and attempt to address them through the work we do here.

The underlying premise for the trial comes from the well-established fact that there is no current treatment that is successful in helping people to become drug-free before they are ready, but this trial may add a new treatment option that may help people to lead a healthier and more stable life, free of crime and illicit drug use. The trial is to assess the efficacy of injectable heroin as an addition to current oral methadone treatment. It is not about handing out free heroin to all and sundry; it is about trialling an option to provide injectable heroin in a controlled manner to see whether it is a viable alternative to the

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