Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. As I said before, I would like to congratulate the member for Dobell for bringing this motion to the House today. I want to note the enormous amount of work she has been doing in this area and making sure that her community is well aware of the issues of ice. I know she was invited to my electorate to speak on her findings. I think we should be paying tribute to her, not criticising her for bringing this motion to the House.

In the 1980s cocaine was readily available. In the 1990s and early 2000s, it was the so-called party drugs, like MDMA and ketamine. All illegal drugs do damage to varying degrees, but I do not know when society has experienced a drug as dangerous as crystal methamphetamine—or ice, as we know it. Earlier this year NT News reported that 15- and 16 -year-olds in my electorate of Solomon were becoming addicted to this terrible drug and then having their addictions exploited by adults, who would offer the children ice in exchange for sexual services and housework, including babysitting. Another report said that a local drug rehabilitation centre, Banyan House in Darwin, where the rate of patients being treated for ice addiction rose from 10 per cent of admissions in 2010 to 65 per cent of admissions in early 2015.

Drug use has always taken its toll on society, but rarely have we seen a substance that renders its users as desperate and dependent as ice does. With data showing that more than 200,000 Australians have used this vile substance over the last year, the consequences are definitely spreading. Aside from the profound effects that this addiction has on the individual, every addict causes a strong ripple effect throughout the family and the neighbourhood. Addicts turn to property crime to fund their addiction. Users in a state of drug induced psychosis are prone to violence and self-harm. In both cases, family, friends and emergency service personnel are most likely the ones to be in harm's way. This is not an issue that can be ignored. We cannot just wait for it to pass.

Decisive and aggressive action is needed, and I am proud to be part of a coalition government which is delivering just that. Federally the coalition government has mobilised. A national task force was established to examine ice supply chains and the impacts across regions and demographic groups. Appropriate responses from government were also considered, including education, treatment and law enforcement.

In my home, the Northern Territory, the Northern Territory government conducted its own investigations and at a more local level is working to pass stronger legislation to help police deal with traffickers and importers. This legislation was initially blocked from debate in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly by Michael Gunner and the Labor Party in collaboration with Independent members. The coalition government has funded a $1 million 'Dob in a dealer' campaign designed to turn up the heat on those who would seek to profit from spreading this misery.

The coalition government is doing everything it can to stop the drug. Make no mistake: stopping it is completely our target. If we start thinking that just reducing ice use is okay, then we are setting ourselves up to fail. If we think just a couple of ice users would be okay, I ask you to name those users. Whose lives are you willing to write off or end? Whose relatives are willing to be exposed to the behaviour that ice brings to families? We must stop ice. But government alone cannot do it. Families, teachers, community leaders, employers, friends all need to be on one point. Everyone needs to be able to reach out to those at risk and help steer them in the right direction. Everyone needs to keep their eyes open to suspicious activity in their neighbourhood and—to borrow a line—dob in a dealer. The coalition government is in this fight and I call on everyone to join us. I think that the member for Dobell has done a fantastic job in her electorate, and I commend her for bringing this motion to the House. I am very disappointed in the behaviour of those opposite; she should be acknowledged for the great work, not criticised for bringing this motion to the House.

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