Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission report entitled Inquiry into the manufacture, importation and use of amphetamines and other synthetic drugs (AOSD) in Australia is a combination of a lot of submissions produced by law enforcement agencies, members of the public and concerned parents. In this inquiry I was able to bring some of my experience not only of having acted for many years for police officers in most of the state and territory police organisations but also as a parent. The present statistics for drug taking are quite horrific. Australians are among the highest per capita users of amphetamines in the world. The statistics released to this committee—and we have no reason to doubt them—show that one in eight people between the ages of 20 and 29 have used ecstasy. That is a phenomenal increase on what the original intelligence was indicating. It also goes to show that in the minds of young people it is the drug of choice and it is being considered like alcohol, despite the harmful nature of the various substances which go into the manufactured product which they are consuming.

I also brought to this committee something to bear as a parent. Like you, Mr Deputy Speaker, my children have grown up. But when my kids were growing older they were going out in various social groups. When we grew up, pubs and clubs were closing at 10 o’clock. These days young people do not seem to go out anytime before then. On one occasion my son, who was 19, went into Sydney with a couple of his football mates for a night out. Parents get used to their kids coming home at around 5 o’clock. At 5 o’clock the following morning I was taken aback to get a phone call from my son to see whether I could pick him up from a hospital. He went to St Vincents Hospital with his mate. His mate, unfortunately, took what was known then as a speed ball, which is ecstasy. He did that in a nightclub in Sydney. His mate actually collapsed on the floor. He was dragged out by the security people or the doormen. He was unconscious. Nine days later he died. I knew this kid’s parents and this really brought it home. Every parent is concerned about the prevalence of a drug of this type in the community, the fact that it is so readily available, and the fact that a lot of young people do not see anything wrong with it. So I and my family owe young Brock a huge debt of gratitude for seeing what occurred there. For the rest of the guys in that football team a very heavy price was paid. That was an example of what can occur when you go out and not know what you are taking.

As I said, at the moment figures show that one in eight people have consumed ecstasy in the last 12 months. According to Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland of Victoria Police, who gave evidence before the committee, police intelligence indicates that 100,000 ecstasy tablets are being consumed per weekend across Australia. That is a devastatingly high figure, which indicates that young people are not making the link between this drug and the consequence of overdosing. For many young people in this country who simply do not know what is in ecstasy or of its effect when mixed with alcohol, the drug is proving to be lethal.

One of the things that concerns police—and I say this with some knowledge—is that at the moment nationally we have produced the Model Criminal Code. It is the desire of the Commonwealth that state and territory governments would enact as closely as possible the tenets of the Model Criminal Code to enable police to be consistent in the way they handle issues of criminality. The Model Criminal Code is certainly designed to look at issues of drug based legislation and also at penalties as a result of criminal activity associated with drugs.

One of the things which came through loud and clear to the committee, one of the things which regrettably is affecting our ability to properly police the use of amphetamines and other synthetic drugs in this country is the inconsistency, as it presently stands, through the state and territory police jurisdictions, of criminal legislation. As most people know, crime does not know any state boundaries. Criminals will operate in various states and move across state borders. The lack of consistency in criminal legislation is hampering the ability of police to reduce the supply of amphetamines and other synthetic drugs in our community.

Sure, a lot of drugs are imported into the community, and the Commonwealth applies Customs to pursue the importations. Therefore, an increase in domestic production of speed is occurring in this country. That being the case, we are seeing more and more police trying to target the small, domestic drug laboratories which are popping up all around the place. These can be quite small. They are certainly very mobile and that is why there is a need for consistent legislation to particularly enable their investigations, and also prosecutions, to shut down drug laboratories to stop the production of drugs.

One of the other things where, quite frankly, it is essential there is some consistency of approach is how we monitor and police the precursor chemicals which go into the manufacture of synthetic drugs. Drugs rely on a lot of precursor chemicals which are being imported. We do not have presently a consistent regime on foot that actually appropriately monitors the infiltration of these precursor chemicals. Some states simply have legislation which will make any possession of precursor chemicals a crime in itself whereas other states do not. These are things, quite frankly, that are an impediment to policing. They are certainly an impediment to successful prosecution with a view to putting those who would seek to use these chemicals out of business.

I commend the report. It is one which has been produced with a view to doing something positive about reviewing state and territory criminal law to give some consistency to police in the way they may go about their function in shutting down this illicit industry. (Time expired)

Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission inquiry into the manufacture, importation and use of amphetamines and other synthetic drugs in Australia. I would first like to thank the secretariat of the parliamentary joint committee and the witnesses, either in writing or attending in person, across the nation for their assistance and integral input into the terms of reference. A key function of the Australian Crime Commission parliamentary joint committee is to examine trends and changes in criminal activities, practices and methods and report to both houses of parliament any change to the functions, structure, powers and procedures of the Australian Crime Commission which the committee thinks desirable.

The terms of reference for the AOSD project were extensive and need to be read in conjunction with the recommendations provided in the amphetamines and other synthetic drugs report. The committee’s report makes 18 recommendations which flow from the inquiry’s findings on the importation, manufacture and use of AOSD in Australia. Eight recommendations relate directly to the functions, structure, powers and procedures of the ACC and, as such, require consideration and responses from the ACC.

It is a fact that Australia has one of the highest levels of methamphetamine use in the world. In recent years it has seen usage increasing. The Department of Health and Ageing, DOHA, noted the following from the UN World drug report 2005. In comparison with other data presented in the report, Australia has a substantially higher rate of amphetamine use than the other countries listed, including the UK, 1.6 per cent; the USA, 1.4 per cent; the Netherlands, 0.6 per cent; and Canada, 0.6 per cent. The annual prevalence of ecstasy use in Australia was 3.4 per cent of the population aged 15 to 64 years in 2001. According to the report, the rates for Australia are well above those presented for the UK, at two per cent; the Netherlands, at 1.5 per cent; the USA, at 1.1 per cent; and Canada, at 0.9 per cent.

I must say that I was very concerned to hear Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland of the Victoria Police highlight the scale of the AOSD problem in Australia. He said:

Our estimation, our intelligence, is that there are somewhere in the vicinity of 100,000 tablets of ecstasy being consumed per weekend across Australia …

Similarly, DOHA noted that one in eight persons aged 20 to 29 years had used ecstasy in the last 12 months. The 20- to 29-year age group had the highest proportion and number of persons ever using ecstasy compared with all other age groups. There were approximately 100,000 more recent ecstasy users in 2004 when compared with 2001.

I would like to highlight two very successful ongoing operations by law enforcement in Australia which should be adopted Australia-wide. As a former police officer I have seen firsthand how operations such as this can assist in the battle against drugs of all kinds. In Perth the committee heard that police have brought the issue of contamination of premises to the attention of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia. Sergeant Gill Wilson, drug education officer with the Alcohol and Drug Coordination Unit of the Western Australia Police, told the committee:

Just recently we have introduced a strategy whereby we have brought the situation to the attention of REIWA—the real estate industry organisation here. This strategy is very worth while ... you can understand that real estate agencies through their property management teams can become realistically the third policeman. They have the opportunity of inspecting premises and may come across situations that they can report through Crime Stoppers ...

In Queensland, Project STOP has recently been instituted and tested. It was developed jointly by the Queensland branch of the PGA, the Queensland police and Queensland Health. The scheme involves recording pseudoephedrine purchaser information on a pharmacy database called Epothecary. This tracks purchases of pseudoephedrine products. The system allows pharmacists to identify persons who may be pseudo-running, using the products illegally or operating a clandestine laboratory. If a transaction arouses suspicions, they may refuse the sale.

The submission from the PGA indicates that, since the pilot program for Project STOP commenced in November 2005, over 40,000 entries have been put through the system and there have been over 2,500 refusals of sale by pharmacists. Further, the submission states that between January and March 2006, only a three-month period, Project STOP resulted in the generation of more than 100 police investigative files, with 12 offenders being arrested on 114 drug related charges, together with six counts of trafficking, three illicit laboratories being detected and a number of suspected pseudo-runners being summonsed to attend the Australian Crime Commission in the ACT for coercive hearings.

I have a significant concern regarding any endorsement of pill testing. While the committee acknowledges that pill-testing proponents are well intentioned, a majority of the committee consider that such programs have yet to overcome a number of legitimate and serious concerns. These are: one, the perception that official conduct and sanction of such programs are akin to condoning drug-taking behaviour; two, that such programs could expose conducting authorities, bodies or individuals to liability for harm arising to users of pill-testing services; and, three, that there are questions over the accuracy of the testing procedures employed.

The committee was also concerned that, despite pill-testing proponents pursuing a neutral information based approach, users of such services will tend to use the information provided to decide simply whether or not to ingest a particular MDMA pill. Given the critical and unpredictable role that individual physiology plays in cases of adverse or even fatal reactions to MDMA pills, the committee was concerned about the extent to which MDMA users might use the information provided by pill testers as the basis of, or to confirm, a decision to ingest a particular MDMA pill.

I concur with the member for Werriwa, my Labor parliamentary colleague, who just shared the experience of a mate of his own son who took a speed bomb in a nightclub and unfortunately paid with the ultimate loss of his life. He did this by going along with the crowd. If there had been a pill test involved, he may have done it because of the fact that the pill was tested and found to be okay. It may be okay for one person but, as I have repeatedly said, the physiological make-up of individuals can be vastly different.

I strongly believe our sports men and women, who our young people hold as mentors and role models, and the press who describe AOSDs as social or party drugs need to be aware that possession of these types of drugs is illegal and that these drugs can have and have been proven to have disastrous effects on an individual. The AFL should not have a three strikes and you are out rule. On the very first occasion a player tests positive or his club becomes aware of a possible dependence on or use of an illegal—and may I be careful in saying—party drug, his parents, the club doctor and coach need to be aware and to provide the necessary support mechanism to ensure that player does not fall between the gaps as in the case of Ben Cousins, a champion young footballer of this era. We all hope to see Ben overcome his addiction and play football again. Everyone can do more in this area, and I support the many recommendations that our committee has provided.

Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ice, ecstasy and speed are commonly used terms for similar and related but different drugs. As the honourable member before me indicated, the use of these drugs in Australia is very concerning. The annual prevalence of ecstasy use in Australia was 3.4 per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64 in 2001. But the rates for Australia are well above those presented for the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, America and Canada. In addition, there are other figures of concern. Recent use of methamphetamines in the population rose from 2.1 per cent in 1995 to 3.2 per cent in the year 2004. The use of ice by methamphetamine users increase from 12 per cent to 45 per cent of those individuals between the year 2000 and 2003-2004. The number of hospital admissions for methamphetamine usage increased from 155 per million to 181 per million over a similar period of time. These are statistics, but each statistic represents a real person.

As the deputy commissioner of police in Victoria indicated to the parliamentary committee, it is their estimate that every weekend 100,000 ecstasy tablets are taken across this country. That is 100,000 sons and daughters, brothers and sisters risking their lives every weekend. This is not a drug which matches stereotypes. The predominant users of this drug are young, well educated and in stable, well-paid jobs. They are people who, from Monday to Friday, nine to five, many people would not suspect of using drugs but on weekends use drugs of great danger.

The crystal form of methamphetamine, ice, is a particularly insidious drug. It was first detected in this country six years ago, although it had been detected in Asia for many years before that. It is a particularly virulent form of the drug and a particularly concerning form of the drug. I was drawn to the finding of the committee that the purity of ice makes it a particularly potent and active form of the drug. The use of ice is increasing in social groups that have traditionally not been associated with hard drug or amphetamine use, particularly because it is ingested in a number of ways. In contrast, heroin traditionally has been injected—which has limited it to the small number of people who are willing to inject themselves, which is estimated to be 0.5 per cent of the population. Ice can be taken in anyone number of ways; it can be smoked, injected and, perhaps most commonly, taken as tablets.

The honourable member for Kingston referred to the media and references to party drugs. I do recognise his point, but I would also make the point that there are several parts of the media which deserve to be congratulated for their treatment of the drug ice. I have seen references to the drug ice on 60 Minutes, in a particularly powerful episode; Four Corners and also on A Current Affair. They have played a very useful role in educating the broader population about the evils of the drug ice and about the need to educate young people. Again, I was drawn to evidence given to the committee by Detective Chief Superintendent Denis Edmonds, of the South Australian Police. He told the committee:

What I do perceive is that there is a lack of knowledge across the community about drugs, their short- and long-term effects and the legal status of some of them. It really does come down to education. Effective education will impact on demand. As I said at the outset, we are talking about a commodity that is out there because there is a demand for it within the community. If we reduce the demand, we reduce the problems.

I was also drawn to the submission to the committee by the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, which said:

There is a need for the targeted dissemination of culturally appropriate and credible information on the types of drugs and the range of harms associated with their use, particularly the considerable risks associated with frequent use and use by injection.

With that in mind, we must all do what we can to educate people about the effects of the drug ice in particular. On 18 April I will be hosting a forum in my electorate for families concerned about the drug ice. I am particularly encouraging families to bring their children to this forum. It will be addressed by Dr Gilbert Whitton, who is one of the foremost Sydney experts on illicit drugs. It will also be addressed by Mr Beaver Hudson, who is a clinical nurse at St Vincents Hospital, and by a former ice addict, whom I will not name in this forum but who has agreed to come and talk at that forum. I thank all of them for giving their valuable time to this forum. I also thank Smithfield RSL for making the meeting place available to me.

Over this week and next week, I will be circulating an invitation to every household in my electorate to attend this forum. It is a small step, but I believe we all have an obligation to provide as much information as possible to all people in the community about this particularly insidious drug and to provide support to parents who are worried about whether their children might be taking it, who perhaps do not know for certain but may have suspicions that their children might be involved in taking these sorts of drugs and who are concerned and do not know where to turn or who to talk to. One of the roles of this forum is to provide information to parents about who they can talk to if they do have those concerns. It is also, of course, to provide information to younger people about who they can talk to about their concerns about their friends or brothers and sisters or, indeed, if they are having a problem with ice and feel they are being pressured to take ice or may be becoming addicted to ice and want to find out what they can do about it.

I commend this report and the members of the committee. I am not a member of this committee but, because of my interest in the matter, my attention was drawn to the report, which I have read. It is a comprehensive analysis of the issues and I commend it to the chamber.

Debate (on motion by Mrs Gash) adjourned.