Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Riverina for her question. I also thank her for the Road to recovery report prepared by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs, which she chaired. The government tabled its formal response to that report in the House last week. One of the principal recommendations of the report was to investigate the effectiveness of naltrexone in treating heroin addicts. The government has committed some $1 million to fund a major trial into this.

Another principal recommendation was not to support the establishment of heroin injecting rooms. I can certainly assure the House that, as long as the Howard government has breath in its body, we will try to oppose any state or territory which is conniving with law-breaking in this way. Let me say that there has been, indeed, some criticism of the government’s approach in opposing heroin injecting rooms. The Leader of the Opposition, for instance, said:

It is wrong for the Prime Minister to stand in the way of NSW Government’s ... injecting rooms for heroin users ...

Here we have it—the Leader of the Opposition: he surrenders on Iraq; he surrenders on workplace relations; he is surrendering on drugs as well.

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