Danna Vale (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a privilege to speak on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2006-2007 and cognate bills. The coalition government’s first budget, handed down on the evening of 20 August 1996, heralded the start of a significant change in Australia’s economic prosperity. It received headlines as the fair-go budget because measures were taken by people who were mindful of the tough choices that come with economic responsibility and who had the experience that brings a finely honed sense of social awareness.

Now, in 2006, another milestone has been reached. We have now eliminated the $96 billion of net debt that Labor left the Australian people when it was voted out of office in 1996. This budget is in surplus for the ninth time in 10 years, and the government has established a Future Fund which has begun to save for the future. With these savings, the next generation will be able to meet the challenges of their time. Now that the Australian government is debt free in net terms we do not have to collect taxes to pay the government’s interest bill, and we are saving a massive $8 billion per annum in interest payments.

The Treasurer’s 11th budget helps Australian families with practical measures that are also part of the government’s thoughtful and disciplined policy to help keep Australia strong. This plan will further strengthen our economy and address the challenges we face as a nation, such as the ageing of our population. The government’s plan includes initiatives in several policy areas. One is in superannuation. We are building up the nation’s savings and putting Australians in control of their own future. We have provided significant tax cuts. We are rewarding hard work and we are helping Australian parents to raise their families and to maintain the living standards that we have come to enjoy. Our changes to the tax thresholds and adjustments to the marginal tax rates have already been welcomed by the vast majority of working Australians.

We have provided funds for medical research. An important way to strengthen Australia’s economy is to focus on new and emerging industries for the future. We have focused on the defence of Australia. We have a strategy for immediate threats to our region and are ready to take action in our part of the world. Roads are vital for the flow of all kinds of economic activity, and we have invested significantly in building stronger linkages between roads, rail and seaports so that export goods can be moved more effectively and efficiently to strengthen our economy.

After 10 years, the government is working to make sure our economy remains strong and our nation is secure so that Australian families can plan for their futures with confidence. The social concerns of our Australian communities are very close to the hearts of many members in this place, and it gives me great pride to note the outstanding performance of the Australian economy. I say this because, without a strong economic base, no government can do very much for those of its citizens who are in need of social welfare support and special assistance. When an economy is weak and in decline, it is those in the lowest levels of our society who suffer the most. They have no buffer against adversity and are the most vulnerable of our citizens. Good economic policy and good social policy go hand in hand, but good economic policy leads the way and dictates the kind and quality of social welfare that we can provide for our most vulnerable Australians.

And, speaking about our most vulnerable Australians, there are two issues that have been of concern to me for some time. One is the horrendous reality of violence against women and children in Indigenous communities, and the other is the impact of illicit drugs on our society. Firstly, I would like to address the Indigenous issue. There has been extensive media coverage recently about violence in our Indigenous communities, but sadly this is nothing new. In my time here as a member of this House I have spoken on this issue on numerous occasions, including during the mandatory sentencing legislation debate, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission amendment debate and the debate on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Task Force on Violence. I used all my time in the appropriation debate in the year 2000 on this tragic issue. In fact, in 2000, in the appropriation debate, I talked about the war zone in Australia today. I noticed only last week that the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald had the headline ‘Not the Third World, just Australia’s war zone’. I continued to note its report on this national disgrace and it motivated me to address this issue once again.

The issue is complex. Contributing factors include the impact of white man’s welfare and the collapse of traditional culture and society, and I refer there to the thought-provoking article by Keith Windschuttle in the Australian dated 23 May 2006. However, as I pointed out in my 2000 appropriation speech, I first read about this war zone for women and children in the report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Task Force on Violence, and I recorded my respect for the courage of the chair of this task force, Professor Boni Robertson of Griffith University, and the Indigenous women who worked with her to bring forth this report. I was particularly moved by an alarming statement in the report which said:

Sexual abuse is an inadequate term for the incidence of horrific sexual offences committed against young boys and girls—

and women—

in a number of Community locations in Queensland …

This important document also pointed out that the incidence of sexual violence in these communities is rising and that it has a direct relationship to negative and deformed male socialisation associated with alcohol and other drug use and, importantly, the influence and prevalence of pornographic videos in these communities. The strong link between violence and pornographic videos and the sexual abuse of Indigenous children has been known for some time. While there are many factors that contribute to violent sexual crime, the widespread availability of these destructive videos is now seen as a trigger for such crime across Australia. According to Boni Robertson, cash-on-delivery orders of $4,000 to $5,000 worth of pornographic videos are known to have been received by remote communities. One community with a history of pornographic video usage is cited in the report as having the highest number of its men in prison for sexual offences.

As I previously pointed out—and it is well worth noting again—the reader of the Boni Robertson report finds it traumatic. It contains a scarifying account of the pain of the daily existence of Australian women and children. It would be utterly unbelievable that something so grotesque and ugly exists anywhere in this beautiful land, except for the fact that the victims of such violence are very real indeed. When I gave this speech in 2000, it fell on deaf ears. Not too many people had heard of the report, or of Boni Robertson and her courage and that of the women in her task force in raising such unpopular issues. In some sections, these women—women of great personal strength and character who were trying to give voice to the voiceless women and children in these remote communities—were condemned for bringing shame upon their own people. Silence is known to be the language of complicity and, unless and until sexual violence amongst our Indigenous women and children is addressed and eradicated, we are all complicit.

However, while there may be nothing quite as powerful as an idea whose time has come, it is timely that the new Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon. Mal Brough, has taken a strong stand against this violence. In addressing this issue, he will have my support and the support of the vast majority of the Australian people. The solutions will prove as complex as the problem, but drugs, alcohol and violent pornographic videos are a cocktail for depravity—just ask these women. In seeking solutions, I would say this to the minister: be encouraged and stay strong in your resolve. Please listen to Indigenous women in seeking your solutions; they have something to say and we in this place have been deaf to their cries for far too long.

The other issue I have referred to is the impact of illicit drugs and alcohol upon individuals, especially the young people of our cities, suburbs and country towns across Australia. In our society today, illicit drug use is reaching epidemic proportions. While we are all well aware of the devastation that drugs cause individuals, their families and our community, I fear that their use may soon become endemic. I would focus on two areas of community concern: one is the policy of harm minimisation and the other is a deadly myth about so-called recreational or party drugs.

The policy of harm minimisation is and in recent years has been shown to be fundamentally flawed. It is founded on the belief that it is not necessary to try to prevent drug addiction in our young people by the use of compliance and enforcement. Advocates of harm minimisation, which include state governments, are saying basically that, if you cannot stop someone from using a drug, you should provide safe conditions for them. However, let us be very clear about this. As many families and drug addicts know, there is absolutely no safe way to use an illicit drug. It is of real concern to the many Australians who place a high value on living in a civil society, and on the role of law and order to provide such a society, that this failed policy of harm minimisation subverts our laws that prohibit the possession and selling of illicit substances. Not only is this a dereliction of our duty as elected representatives—because government policy should always support and never subvert the law—it also sends confusing messages to young Australians.

Further, the synthetic drug methadone was introduced to assist those addicted to heroin, in the belief that methadone causes blockading of the brain’s receptors, preventing euphoria and assisting the addict to cease using the drug. This policy has proved to be another abject failure of harm minimisation. Not only has this policy proved ineffective but also the use of methadone has markedly increased. The New South Wales state government has also established a heroin injecting room in Kings Cross. There addicts can inject a deadly drug, which has been obtained illegally, not only with free needles but also free of the fear of arrest or prosecution. As soon as they walk through the front door of the heroin injecting room, the law of our land does not apply to them.

Harm minimisation supporters also propagate the falsehood that somehow the exchange of needles and syringes to drug addicts will reduce the spread of AIDS and hepatitis. The 2002 hepatitis C report funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing clearly shows that the infection rate of hepatitis C is rapidly increasing, with up to 836 cases expected in the year 2020. The policy of needle exchange has become needle distribution and is another failed policy from the advocates of harm minimisation.

The 1992-97 New South Wales drug directorate strategy promised that harm minimisation would achieve the following outcomes: firstly, a reduction in the proportion of people, especially young people, who currently use drugs. It has failed and has been shown to have failed. Secondly, it aimed to achieve a reduction in the availability of illegal drugs. Again, it has failed and has been clearly shown to have failed. Thirdly, it aimed to achieve a reduction in the number of drug related property crime and crimes against the person. It has failed here too and has been shown to have been a failure. This policy is not just a miserable failure; in fact, it has also failed the young people of Australia.

New South Wales has the highest use of heroin and the highest crime rate in Australia and the highest use of methadone in the world. When it comes to illicit drugs, the policy of abstinence and appropriate support and rehabilitation for these addicts is the only effective means of dealing with this insidious and evil scourge of our society. We have a lack of rehabilitation facilities within communities all across Australia. I call on our government to address this issue, to review the number of rehabilitation facilities that are available and to do something positive to provide rehabilitation to ease the concern and distress of families and addicts.

Another massive challenge that we are facing is the use and widespread acceptance of the so-called recreational drugs or party drugs, which are poisonous and deadly. These include ecstasy, cocaine and speed and are often favoured over alcohol as the drug of choice for a night out in some sections of our society. Once found only in underground rave parties, these drugs can now be easily bought and sold at any number of city nightclubs, bars and private parties. But while we are all aware of the dangers of these so-called recreational drugs, the laid-back attitude of many young Australians has resulted in the acceptance of these drugs as a normal part of our society. Indeed, regrettably, Australians have become so complacent that we now have the highest use of ecstasy in the world. What does this say about our future?

I was greatly concerned to read a report in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, 22 May this year which revealed that at least one person a fortnight dies in our country after taking ecstasy. The report also included figures from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre that showed that the lifetime prevalence of ecstasy use increased from one per cent in 1988 to 7.5 per cent in 2004. However, if I thought that alarming statistic would be enough to convince our drug research organisations that zero tolerance is the only way forward, I was sadly mistaken. I was horrified to read material from the Australian Drug Foundation that provided guidelines for the safe use of ecstasy. These included drinking water regularly to prevent dehydration, wearing loose clothing and taking regular breaks from dancing. However, this very same material clearly states that ecstasy is illegal in Australia. The contradiction is breathtaking.

Similarly, the Australian Drug Foundation also provides information on marijuana. It says:

Currently, there is no evidence that occasional use of small quantities of cannabis causes any permanent health damage.

The question has to be asked forthwith: to a young person, exactly what does ‘small quantities’ mean? How can we honestly allow this type of material to circulate amongst impressionable young people, who look to us for guidance? What kind of message is this sending to young Australians, what kind of confusion is this causing, when it appears in government funded material?

Laws are put in place for the protection of us all. Experience has shown that, where there is no respect for law and order, civil society begins to fragment. We must once again honour the law that says it is illegal to sell or possess illicit drugs and encourage young Australians to understand the real dangers to them and their families and to promote a policy of abstinence. We must give our police officers the confidence to enforce the law and to give our citizens the clear message that illegal drug use is not acceptable, that it is not acceptable for their future or for their future happiness. We must also offer our children a word of hope and educate them about the dangers of drug use.

One person doing a wonderful job on this front in Sutherland shire is a resident by the name of Darren Marton, who launched his No Way antidrug campaign at the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks Leagues Club last Wednesday night. Darren is well placed to comment on substance abuse, having succumbed to the lure of drugs at an early age and gradually ruining a promising career in the sport of rugby league. As a rising young sports star, Darren began smoking cannabis in high school but, as so often happens, progressed to heavier drugs and by his early 20s was addicted to heroin. After a tumultuous decade, which included stints in jail and psychiatric wards, Darren finally experienced the terrors of crystal methamphetamine, more commonly known as ice, in 2004. In 2005, Darren turned his life around and vowed to use his own life experience to educate young people about the consequences of illicit drug use.

I was privileged to attend the launch of the No Way campaign and to see Darren give a deep and moving account of his life. Darren was a gifted young athlete who had the world at his feet. He played junior representative football with the Cronulla Sharks in New South Wales and accepted a scholarship with the Sharks at the age of 16, before losing it all to drugs. Darren hopes to carry his message into schools, community groups and sporting organisations. I would like to pay tribute to the work that Darren is doing, to his courage and determination in giving up drugs and to his commitment to creating a confronting and powerful campaign to warn our precious young Australians of the dangers of drug use. However, Darren should not be alone in his efforts to encourage young people to fulfil their dreams. We all have a duty to educate our young people about the ramifications of drugs, both legal and illegal. This, combined with a zero tolerance approach to illicit drugs, is the only way to go. I congratulate the Treasurer on this excellent budget and I commend these appropriation bills to the House.

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