Page 997 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2016
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That remains the government’s position. We do not support a number of the elements of Mr Rattenbury’s motion. We do not support a commitment to signing up to the Canberra declaration. The government does not agree to that. We do not agree to the decriminalisation of all drugs, including serious illicit drugs. We do not agree with that approach either because we have to recognise that drugs are dangerous products that cause harm. In many respects, they are a form of product that cannot be easily regulated in terms of manufacture and supply in a way that we deal with other forms of drug.
My amendment recognises these facts. It restates the work that the government is doing that focuses on harm minimisation and it calls on the government to continue to focus our policies on prioritising treatment and harm minimisation and on treating personal illicit drug use as a health issue rather than as a criminal issue. It restates the government’s commitment to continue to use an evidence-based approach to deliver policy that provides positive outcomes for our community.
I note that Mr Hanson has also foreshadowed an amendment that deals with decriminalisation of serious drugs, including ice, heroin and what is characterised as other dangerous illicit substances. Whilst that is a broad assertion—what are other dangerous illicit substances?—the government agrees in principle that that is reasonable wording. I am happy to indicate that the government will support Mr Hanson’s amendment to my amendment in due course. I move the following amendment that has been circulated in my name:
Omit all words after “That this Assembly”, substitute:
“(1) notes:
(a) on 2 March, the Australian Parliament’s cross-party Group on Drug Policy and Law Reform held the Parliamentary Drug Summit in Canberra;
(b) the Summit was attended by approximately 70 experts and representatives from academia, the health sector, the justice sector, NGOs representing drug users and families, the drug and alcohol sector, as well as politicians from all sides of politics;
(c) the Summit produced The Canberra Declaration on Illicit Drugs, which calls for governments to approach illicit drug use from a health and community safety perspective, and to move away from the punitive enforcement approach;
(d) there is extensive evidence demonstrating that treatment and harm reduction are the most effective strategies to respond to illicit drug use;
(e) the ACT Government’s ongoing commitment to harm minimisation;
(f) the increasing numbers of people using crystal methamphetamine and the associated levels of harm among users, including dependence;
(g) the impacts drug use has on crime, domestic and family violence, and road accidents; and
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