Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mallee for that series of questions. On the issue of crystal methamphetamine, better known as ice, we are facing a very serious problem in Australia, on which the government has taken significant national leadership. We have been concerned for some time around the reports we get from our own law enforcement agencies and from state law enforcement agencies. If any member of parliament were to go and talk to their local emergency department in a hospital, if they were to talk to emergency services workers in other sectors, they would know that the use of crystal methamphetamine has exploded. The last figures we had suggested that there were about 200,000 users of ice in Australia, but it is almost certain that that figure would be significantly more today.

We have been very concerned to take national leadership on this, and we wanted to get the best possible advice about what the federal government can do that is actually going to address the issue and work. We asked the former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay to join with two health professionals in a National Ice Taskforce. They travelled the country, talking to people who have been addicted, talking to treatment services, talking to police, talking to people in hospitals, talking to other frontline service workers, and they provided that advice to the government in the latter half of last year. The government has responded with the most significant investment in drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Australia's history. We know that we need to tackle the supply side, which is policing. We are pulling more drugs off the streets; we are locking up more people who are peddling drugs; and we are confiscating more of the assets of serious drug criminals. But we know the supply side is not going to be the only answer here. We need to get people off this drug. We need to make sure that, if they are addicted and they seek treatment, they can get treatment. We have made a $240 million investment in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. This is an extra investment—on top of the investment that we already make and on top of what the states and territories already make—to make sure that help is available to people when they need it.

We have also invested an extra $60 million in education and understanding the rehabilitation process for ice, because the detoxification and the rehabilitation process for this very serious drug is different to what you would use for other drugs—it is different to what you would use for alcoholics or heroine addicts or any other drug. We need to make sure that we have rehabilitation services that are actually dealing with the specific issue of crystal methamphetamine. That money flows from 1 July this year, and I hope some of it flowed into the coffers to some people in the electorate of Mallee.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Thank you, the member for Moreton. The second thing he asked, which is a vitally important question, was about the protection for our police and law enforcement officers. This is vitally important because we know that police have been the targets of terror attacks in Australia. The first terror attack we had was at the Endeavour Hills police station in Melbourne in 2014. That was where a Vic. police officer and an AFP officer were both stabbed by the same perpetrator, who was subsequently killed. Last year we had the murder of Curtis Cheng out the front of the Parramatta police station. We know that police are specifically targeted by those who would seek to do harm in the community. In fact, the Director-General of Security upgraded the terrorism threat level specifically for law enforcement to probable, which is a reflection on the fact that we need to protect our police better.

I am very pleased to say that in this year's budget, the 15-16 budget, the government provided $153.6 million over the next four years in recognition of the current threat of terrorist acts against law enforcement agencies. This measure will see a range of measures implemented across Australia. The AFP received additional funding of $19.8 million over four years and will redirect $28.7 million over four years from within existing resources. The ACIC also received just over $5 million for their security. Yes, the member for Mallee has identified a very serious problem; yes, we have been taking action to make sure that our law enforcement officers have appropriate protections. We are very proud of the fact that in a very constrained fiscal environment we have been able to find the money for something that is so vitally important.

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