Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Drug Testing Trial) Bill 2019 for a number of reasons but, principally, because it's good legislation and, secondly, because my home town, the city of Mandurah, is one of three trial locations that will receive the benefit of this legislation. The three are Canterbury Bankstown in New South Wales—an area where I grew up, in fact—Logan in Queensland and Mandurah in Western Australia, which sits right at the heart of my electorate of Canning. This is a trial. It's really important to note that. We do have a drug problem in Mandurah and, from speaking with many locals, I know they are very keen for innovative solutions, and this is just one measure of many which I think will make for a better community in Canning.

But let's get back to first principles. This is not about punitive measures. This is not about denying people welfare or hurting disadvantaged people. This is actually about helping people get off welfare and into a job. That's really important because employment gives people meaning, gives people purpose and gives people dignity. At the heart of this legislation is a desire to see more Australians, especially those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, get into work. That wouldn't just help them; it would help the communities in which they reside.

This government is about creating jobs. We've already created a record number of jobs—1.4 million—but the sad reality is that there are people who will always have a barrier before them so long as they're addicted to drugs and alcohol, and that's what this legislation seeks to help them with.

Evidence from the 2016 National Drugs Strategy Household Survey shows that the unemployed were 3.1 times more likely to use methamphetamines and 1.5 times more likely to use cannabis than the employed—and these are just straight-up facts. Further evidence released by the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University shows that Newstart recipients have four times the relative risk of reporting alcohol and drug problems than people who are working. I cited locals in my community. We've done a number of surveys ourselves. There's also been national polling, and we have overwhelming support for this. People want to see Mandurah cleaned up. We're in the process of doing that.

The federal government's already been leading this. I'm very proud of the Peel Health Hub, which was opened late last year. We provided several million dollars towards that, and what it does is seek to prevent at-risk Australians aged 12 to 24 from getting on drugs and alcohol. We're already preventing that. This is designed to target another group of people who need help and help them get into the workforce. I shouldn't use the word 'target', but it is designed to apply to a certain group of people, and I think it's good in that sense.

Drug testing is not something that is unusual in Australia. My office was drug tested last year. We all took a drug test. We were all clean, obviously, but we wanted to show our local community that, like the City of Mandurah employees, like the many FIFO workers in our community, we also were prepared to take a drug test. A few businesses around Australia already do random drug testing with their employees. Fire and Rescue NSW, Department of Home Affairs, Sydney Airport, Qantas, BHP Billiton and, as I mentioned, the City of Mandurah already do random drug testing. I know the ADF does random drug testing—I did that overseas. This is not something that's unusual. It's actually designed to help people who really do need help.

What about the effectiveness of the trial? As I said, the government is looking for new ways to address the devastating impact of drugs, and that's why I think it's worth having a try. This is an Australian first. It might not work, but we've got to have a go. When it comes to helping people addicted to drugs, we need to be open minded and we need to try new things.

Another objection is whether there is any evidence to support drug testing of welfare recipients. Drug testing of certain welfare recipients has been legislated in around 15 states in the United States of America on either a fully rolled-out or trial basis. At this time, evaluation of the effectiveness of the drug testing of welfare recipients in other countries has generally not been conducted or is not available. That's why this measure is a trial—it is just a trial. I tell you, there are a lot of desperate people in Mandurah. I've spoken to family members who've lost children, who have children who are addicted. People are pretty open minded, and I think this is a good way to go.

People have said this is punitive and that somehow it would take people's welfare from them. It actually wouldn't at all. In fact, it would quarantine their income, which is a really important aspect. It does not change the amount of money they receive, only the way in which they receive their payments. The majority of a jobseeker's normal payment is quarantined to pay bills and purchase goods—about 80 per cent—and the remaining amount is paid into their regular bank account and can be accessed as cash. That's if they test positive the first time. Jobseekers who test positive to a second test will be supported by a local case manager to access treatment and support services. This is a really important part and something that I'm very glad to read in the legislation. A $10 million treatment fund will boost drug treatment capacity at trial sites, ensuring jobseekers can access the treatment they need.

As I said, this measure is not about punishing people; it is about assisting people to pursue treatment to address their substance abuse issues. Again, at the heart of this is the principle of mutual obligation. Taxpayers fund welfare, and we want to make sure money is being spent responsibly. We want to make sure that children whose parents are struggling with drug addiction are being fed and having their basic needs taken care of, and that's why quarantining 80 per cent of their income, so it can only be spent on the essentials, is a good thing.

To get back to what I was discussing before, in Mandurah we do have a crime and drug problem. Our community is changing, but I'm pretty confident that we have local support and that's why I have been very supportive of this legislation. I look forward to this bill passing into law and to this trial being rolled out. We will see what the results say at the end of it, but I look forward to this happening in Mandurah.

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