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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1575 ..

MR PRATT (continuing):

should see the loss of esteem these poor kids face. They also need to understand loss of jobs and security.

They need to understand, if addicts survive all of that, how the maintenance of their addiction will most likely rob them of the chance of ever owning a WRX, or getting a home, and then, beyond that, perhaps even raising a family-that a lifelong addiction will rob them of any power to maintain a more holistic life.

I come now to the third step, Mr Speaker. One school I visited recently identifies children at risk of addiction-or susceptibility to addiction. The department and schools need to identify such children. There should be an urgent allocation of funding, so we can reach out to these children. This would include strongly encouraging their families to join with school and community agencies in resolving their child's problem-addiction, esteem building, home stress, et cetera. Those things need to be tackled. Such children would need to undertake the general education programs I have described above, but they need additional help to manage and get through the problems they have. These ought to be joint school, community and departmental activities.

Perhaps the school would maintain a watching brief and be the point of reference for the children going through a myriad of such programs. Eventual enrolment in community-based detoxification and counselling programs might be necessary, with schools again being the point of reference. Schools would not be responsible for the outcomes but would be a point of reference to bind this collaborative approach together.

I turn now to the fourth step I propose. The ASSAD report begs the question: what level of trafficking occurs on and near school grounds, and to and from homes? It is reasonable to assume from the figures in the report-those dramatic figures I outlined earlier-that in some schools there is significant trafficking activity.

Mr Speaker, the level of trafficking-or, optimistically, the lack of it-needs to be urgently determined. The department, working with the police and other agencies, should undertake a survey of students in high risk areas. I am not talking about an inquiry, I am talking about an ongoing survey within schools and the department. With regard to trafficking in schools, the department must insist that schools adhere to the law and report all offences, with trafficking always being dealt with as a criminal offence, not just a schoolyard prank for which the student might be administratively warned or expelled.

I know some schools would not like to do that, because of the negative PR it would bring upon them. However, I do not believe that is the case. I believe the opposite is the case-that schools, by signifying that they are exercising the law, will be demonstrating to their communities, and to families, that they are doing their best to make their schools a safe place.

The community, the police and magistrates, must take a tough, no-nonsense approach to adults who knowingly traffic to students and encourage them to experiment with drugs. Adults who deal with minors in this way-exploitation of the impressionable-must attract tougher penalties than other forms of trafficking offences.

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