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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 3 Hansard (25 March) . . Page.. 865 ..

MR STEFANIAK: Mr Speaker, I want to speak today about an issue that is of great importance to young people and indeed to the whole of our society. That is the issue of drug education. I do this in the context of announcing the release of the draft drug education policy framework for public consultation.

The debate about the best ways to combat the misuse of drugs is broad-ranging and volatile. It is an issue which has been debated at length, an issue debated with vigour and passion throughout the nation. It permeates society and is of great concern at every level of government. Few would deny the importance of educating our young people about the implications of the misuse of drugs while at the same time providing them with ways of dealing with what is an inevitable and often tragic part of the society in which they live now and will inherit as adults.

Drugs are a national problem and as such are of course on the agenda for the Heads of Government meeting in April. I understand that the Prime Minister will be making a statement about drug policy and drug education. I look forward to hearing the outcomes of those discussions. I especially look forward to some Federal funds to assist the States and Territories, particularly the ACT, in drug education.

Today I am pleased to announce that a draft drug education policy framework is to be released for public comment. The framework will be out for community consultation from the end of March to 30 June this year. It provides a context for drug education in ACT schools. Mr Speaker, this is a document which proposes a wide range of strategies and approaches for education about drugs and their effects. It contains advice on a full range of strategies for teaching about drugs. It facilitates developing drug education programs for students from kindergarten through to Year 12, covering each sector of education. And I would expect that the framework, and the community response to it, will provide a better and more coordinated approach to drug education in our schools from next year, the year 2000.

At the outset, I want to assure the Assembly that the draft framework states clearly and unambiguously that drugs are not acceptable in our schools. They are unacceptable. The framework proposes, Mr Speaker, that drug education programs in schools should be put together in ways that are both appropriate to the academic level of students and, most importantly, appropriate to the intellectual and emotional developmental level of children and young people.

It is important that the message that drugs such as heroin and marijuana are dangerous and harmful needs to be right up front in any drug education program. The first option for students should be not to take drugs at all. Abstinence is the best option. That is particularly important for young children. However, drug programs must also be realistic, and it is important that harm minimisation strategies be available to students as they get older.

Mr Speaker, this draft framework has been put together as a detailed, expert and coordinated response to the important role schools have in combating the drug problem. It has been developed by a working party established in February 1998 made up of representatives from Health, police, parents, principals, teachers, students, and young

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