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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (5 November) . . Page.. 3620 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (12.21): Mr Speaker, I have circulated two amendments in the chamber. I seek leave to move them both at the same time.

Leave granted.

MR HUMPHRIES: I move:

(1) Paragraph (4), omit the words "deter people, particularly young people, from taking drugs as well as minimise the harm associated with drugs and the harmful use of drugs", substitute "minimise the harmful use of drugs as well as deter people, particularly young people, from taking drugs".

(2) Add the following proposed new paragraph (6):

"(6) supports the Territory's applications for funding from the Commonwealth's initiative for the establishment of a treatment facility for people under the age of 18 and for the conduct of alternative drug therapy programs.".

The first amendment is, in a sense, a revision of what Mr Moore was proposing before. I adopt some of the remarks made by Mr Moore on that score. It is important, in emphasising the harm minimisation approach, which most of us now realise is the essential approach that needs to be taken towards this problem, that we also need to be prepared to indicate that deterrence of people from taking up the use of drugs or continuing the use of drugs is also an important part of the strategy. Therefore, the amendment I put forward refers to both of those matters - harm minimisation as well as deterrence. It is clear that the community has come to a realisation that it is impossible to ignore the harm that drugs do and that the approach taken in other places at some distance in the past failed to examine the ways in which the impact could be minimised and was the wrong approach.

The other amendment I have moved refers to the Territory's application for funding from the Commonwealth for a treatment facility for those under the age of 18. Obviously, anybody looking at this area even cursorily realises that the real frontier, the real area of significant problem for us, is young people under the age of 18 taking up the use of drugs. Facilities and programs which focus on their needs - and Ms Reilly made reference to this in her remarks - are critically important in addressing a full range of facilities and services that will deal with this problem at the appropriate level. I would hope members would be prepared to support this without dissent. The program's importance in the ACT context is hard to overstate. If it has support, hopefully unanimous support, particularly on the floor of this Assembly, it will emphasise to the Commonwealth Government that all parties in this place support the creation of that facility. Obviously, Commonwealth support would be very useful in making that happen.

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