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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 9 Hansard (21 August) . . Page.. 3069 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

Mr Deputy Speaker, this will be an election issue. On 1 January next year the legislation for the shooting gallery will kick into place and we, as an Assembly, will be forced to decide what to do. I think the people of the ACT need to be aware that whoever they vote for will be making a decision-it will probably be one of the first decisions we have to face after we elect Mr Kaine as Chief Minister.

Mr Kaine: With your support.

MR OSBORNE: With my support, of course. So it is a live issue; it is a current issue.

I must admit to being somewhat unsure about whether we need to have a referendum on the heroin trial, because it is pretty clear that the current Prime Minister has no intention of implementing such a trial. Not that that is a bad thing, Mr Deputy Speaker. I think if we were going to be serious, perhaps we should have looked at just the issue of a shooting gallery. Last year we had dramas with the budget, and the decision was put off till after the election. So obviously the incoming government and incoming members of this place will be forced to make a decision.

It is pretty clear that most of the people of the ACT are aware of the issues. Mr Moore has been arguing his point of view for a number of years. I remember that the first issue I had to face when I came into this place was the pilot heroin trial task force report. I am unsure what the result would have been if a referendum had been held. I feel quite confident that my side would have won. Mr Moore is quite confident that his side would have won. But a lot of that would have depended, I suppose, on how the different campaigns were run.

I think it is very clear from some of the stories in the Canberra Times this morning how particular newspapers and journalists would have reported it, and that would have had an impact on the outcome. So I am not overly concerned that this bill will not be passed but I think it would have been a worthwhile referendum to have had.

This is an issue that all of us will have to continue to face should we be back here after October. I do not imagine that Mr Moore will give up the fight when he finally leaves this place. He has spoken about this Assembly needing fewer conservatives. I know what we need less of, and thankfully that is what is going to happen after October.

Mr Deputy Speaker, this is a difficult issue. As I said earlier, I have been looking at the drug problem for a number of years. In my previous life I worked at a police station where drugs were a difficult and constant issue. As I have said before, this problem impacts on the families or friends of most people.

I would like to think that at some stage we can reach some consensus. The thing that I admire most about Sweden is that, regardless of their model, it is pretty clear that they have taken a united approach. I think we all need to take a deep breath and consider how we can move forward so that we can try to find some help for drug dependent people.

There have been some benefits from some of the policies of the last few years. I do not think you could argue that the needle exchange program has not been effective in some areas. Quite clearly it has. As I said earlier, I do not want to speak on the different issues.

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