Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the drug 'ice' is at epidemic proportions and having a huge impact on our communities;

(2) acknowledges the Government has:

(a) identified the ferocity of the ice epidemic across Australia;

(b) put in place the National Ice Taskforce (NIT) to begin implementing positive programs and changes to help stop the scourge of ice; and

(c) announced $1 million in funding has been made available to Crime Stoppers to roll out a national Dob in a Dealer campaign to help combat Australia's ice scourge; and

(3) notes that the NIT final report was recently delivered to the Government with identified actions on how local, state and federal governments can work with communities to take a systematic, comprehensive and coordinated approach to Australia's ice scourge.

I have spoken in this House on many occasions about the ongoing need to address the epidemic of ice in my electorate and in communities across Australia. I will fight to continue looking out for the safety and welfare of residents in my electorate and for the eradication of this insidious drug from our society. We need to support front-line professionals, including police, paramedics, healthcare and welfare officers, and families as they tackle the impact of this drug on local communities. Every day they are on the front line seeing the devastation and destruction caused by ice and picking up the pieces.

In my electorate, Brisbane Water Local Area Command and Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command are committed to stamping out ice and they have proactive crime teams undertaking countless hours of work to stop the dealers and backyard manufacturers. But despite the hard work of the police, unfortunately we continue to see a rise in offences related to this highly addictive drug ice.

Brisbane Water LAC has reported a 100 per cent rise in the two years July 2013 to June 2015, while Tuggerah Lakes LAC has seen a rise of 36 per cent in the same period. Australians, per capita, are the highest consumers of ice in the world. This continues to place an ever-increasing strain on our communities and resources. The ice problem is so dire in some communities that it is easy to become paralysed in identifying where to begin to deal with the scourge.

Our frontline medics struggle under the pressure of dealing with the ice-induced psychosis, super-human strength and aggression of the addicts they attempt to treat. Police resources are under increasing pressure as police confront dealers, manufacturers and users, and combat the crime—such as theft, property damage, drugged driving and assault—associated with ice addiction. Our rehabilitation and community service providers struggle to meet the demands of those seeking access to rehabilitation.

The National Ice Taskforce has identified the drastic need for all levels of government to unite and work cooperatively to increase education and community support programs in order to begin to reduce uptake and demand. The task force has made a series of recommendations that present an opportunity to take control of the ice epidemic by working with communities to take a systematic, comprehensive and coordinated approach.

The taskforce has made recommendations in relation to establishing strong community research, treatment, education and prevention and recognises that, while law enforcement is absolutely important and necessary, in order to see an end to the ice epidemic we need to focus on embracing and equipping the community. It is the community that hurts and suffers the pain of the ice epidemic. The community is left to repair the havoc which is left in the wake of ice usage.

As users become addicted and disconnected from society they turn to crime. They turn on their own friends of families. Parents witness their children becoming unrecognisable, violent, desperate, losing inhibitions, and stealing and destroying in order to get their next fix. Children witness their parents' decline. They see them go from being loving, caring and nurturing protectors to being neglectful and abusive, which results in hunger and fear.

Have no doubt, ice causes unimaginable pain and fear for the families of the people who succumb to ice addiction. They face not only the decline of their loved ones in health, mind and spirit but also the endless worry of where they are. Families wonder: "Are they alive? When will they come home and what state will they be in?" They suffer a complete sense of helplessness and hopelessness, with little knowledge of what they can do to help the ones they love. On one hand, with hearts of love, loyalty and compassion, they cling to memories of what was, but on the other hand they are afraid and frustrated and want to give up because they are tired of being robbed, assaulted and abused.

I am fighting in my electorate for families who are weighed down by the anguish of having a loved one addicted to ice. These families require care, resources and support to help them get through their fears and vulnerabilities as they attempt to navigate their way through the tempestuous territory of addiction. These families need tangible and practical support, counselling and guidance because they make significant contributions to helping users who are attempting to break their addiction and rehabilitate. The support of a loved one can prevent a user from relapsing, keep them attending treatment and support groups, and help them reintegrate into family and social life. The families of users need support, and I remain steadfast in my commitment to making sure support mechanisms are available in Dobell for these families.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do we have a seconder for the motion? I see that we do have a seconder, who reserves the right to speak in this debate.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is an important issue and it deserves to be treated seriously, but I am very disappointed at the manner in which this motion has been brought before this chamber. We are being asked to note the contents and recommendations of a report that this government has not even provided to the community or the parliament. For this reason, I will be moving an amendment. I move:

That all words in paragraph (3) be replaced with "notes that it has been 511 days since the Government received the Review of Drug and Alcohol Prevention and Treatment Services Sector Report and calls on the Minister to immediately release this report and the report of the National Ice Taskforce."

I would have thought that if the member were seriously concerned about the issues in her electorate and the issues right around the country then as a part of her contribution in this debate today that report, which she asks us to endorse, would have been tabled so that it was available for us to talk in an informed manner about its contents. If it had been any other member then I would have been surprised, but noting the spectacular debut of this member into the serious debate around methamphetamine use I am not surprised. This is the member who went on national television and talked about people eating their eyeballs—a spectacular story. The only problem with it is that it was not true. We need a serious contribution to this debate, not the sort of guff that we are getting at the moment.

Let us talk about some serious issues. Let us talk about the $800 million worth of cuts to funding that this member's own government has visited upon the treatment sector and the delays in funding which mean services in her own electorate have had to cut staff.

Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order, I am just interested in the process here. The member, in standing up, said he wished to move an amendment to this private member's motion. I do not believe that is in the spirit of what happens in this chamber. This is a chamber of agreed outcomes.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. He is entitled to move an amendment to the motion.

Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is he?

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This goes to a serious issue, because for the last year members on this side of the House have been calling on the government to release the report of the review of drug treatment services, and since it was provided to the government we have been calling on members opposite to table the report of the National Ice Taskforce so that we can have a proper debate. It is important because we know that at the very time the government was talking about the problems associated with methamphetamine use, concerns that we share, we were seeing $800 million worth of cuts from the flexible funds, which are the funds that are funding those services. We are seeing delays in funding which mean services in the member's own electorate and in mine are having to cut staff. If you are serious about dealing with this drug epidemic, as the member asked us to get serious and concerned about, then of course we would not be having the continual delay in releasing the report and we would not be seeing the services that are at the very coalface of dealing with this problem having to cut staff, and that goes to the nub of the issue.

I have actually visited the Kamira service, an excellent service in the member's own electorate which provides a unique rehabilitation service to women—not duplicated anywhere else throughout New South Wales. They have 22 beds available. They can only service 11 of those beds and, on almost a weekly basis, they are having 30 people ring up and they are having to turn them away because they do not have the funds available to them to have those additional beds open. This is a serious issue; it deserves a serious response, not stunts. If the member asks us to note the contents of a report and the recommendations of a report, the very least that she should do is to furnish parliament with a copy of that report. We do not need these sorts of stunts; we need a serious contribution to this debate furnished with the information and furnished with the results of Commissioner Ken Lay's report. We welcome some of the comments that have been made by Commissioner Lay that this is not a problem that we can arrest our way out of. Against that backdrop, we should be funding those services properly, not visiting upon them the sorts of cuts that those members opposite are supporting. I table the amendment.

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do we have a seconder for the amendment to the motion?

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the amendment.

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

I would like to thank the member for Dobell for bringing this motion to the House today. I think she has been working extremely hard in this area and I think that she certainly deserves credit, not criticism, from those opposite—which is appalling behaviour from them.

Government Member:

A government member interjecting—It is just dreadful.

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

Various illegal drugs come and go over time. In the 1980s cocaine was readily available; in the 1990s and early 2000s, it was the so-called party drugs, MDMA and ketamine—

Honourable members interjecting—

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Member for Solomon, please take your seat. Can we please have order in the House. I think we would all like to hear the member for Solomon. The Member for Solomon has the call.

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

Would you like me to start again, Madam Deputy Speaker?

Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, you may. Please, reset the clock.

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to 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.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In rising to speak in this debate, I do acknowledge that the member for Dobell is very active on this issue. She does speak about this issue a lot in the parliament. In fact, when we held a Standing Committee on Health hearing in my own electorate, she asked many of the Bendigo health providers, including Bendigo Community Health Services, what their response had been to ice. Knowing that it is an issue in regional Australia is why the amendment moved by this side, which calls upon the minister to immediately release the National Ice Taskforce report as well as the report into the review of drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services, should be accepted. These two reports, which this motion refers to, need to be released so that communities in regional areas can understand the findings and so we can set government policy based upon these reports. It is wrong to be debating these issues without all the facts in front of us. That is why I seconded the motion moved by the member for Crosby. We need those reports to be released if we are serious about tackling this issue.

I will take a couple of moments to share a local story which really captures why it is so critical that this government release these reports and restore the funding that has been cut to rehab and support services. Samantha stood in front of the Bendigo Magistrates Court almost in tears. The magistrate had raised the very real possibility of sending the 21-year-old to jail after she was charged with trafficking the drug ice in Bendigo. The judge told her:

You were the one who breached your family's trust. They are the ones who care about you. It is not just you that suffers. It is your family, friends and the community as a broader picture that are impacted by your actions.

The police caught her with a snap-lock bag of drugs in her house in her North Bendigo home in February, which she admitted she sold to fund her own habit. Speaking to the Bendigo Advertiser, Helen, her mother, said her daughter was like any other teenager. Growing up in Bendigo, she was your typical teenager. She worked in Bendigo in a small business whilst finishing high school. Yet when the business closed in 2013, she appeared to lose her meaning for life. Her mother said, 'I did not find she was using ice straight away, not until a few months after.' Within months, the cycle had started. She would leave the house for days and come home in a mess. After two days of sleeping at home, Samantha would disappear again. Throughout her story, her mother spoke of the heartbreak of seeing her daughter go down this spiral. She went from being 50 kilos to 40 kilos, almost losing our appetite. Her mother said, 'We would not see her for a few days and then she would come home in a sobbing mess, saying things like, "I cannot do this any more".'

Her family quickly started to ring rehab centres knowing there was not much time before they lost their daughter. She was yelling at her parents before retiring to bed for days. But Helen said that when she would ring these rehab centres, there were waiting lists, always waiting lists. Every time she asked how long the waiting list was, she would be told the only certain thing was it would take time. It would take time to get her daughter in for help. No-one would take her unless she was physically hurting yourself or hurting someone else. This was what I find heartbreaking. Because she was not physically hurting herself—although I would argue that taking drugs is hurting oneself—no-one would take her.

This is the problem that we have. Money has been taken out of these critical services that support people seeking help. Last year's budget cut almost $200 million from health flexible funds. This year's budget took almost $600 million away from health flexible funds. These funds were going towards health services, helping young people, helping people who wanted to get their life back—the rehab services that we talk about. A further $1.2 million was initially taken from the Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grant Fund—more money is being taken from frontline services. It is not good enough. If this government were serious about ensuring that we get on top of this problem, they would support regional communities. They would support health services who are opening their beds up, who are ensuring that young people like Samantha are not left on the end of a phone line, that their parents will have access to a rehab bed if they need it. In my own area we only have four rehab beds for a community of 100,000, for the City of Greater Bendigo, which serves the Loddon Mallee region It is time this government really got serious and funded these services properly.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Dobell for this motion and for her extensive work in her electorate. As a member of parliament since 2007, I have rarely heard anything as dreadful as that personal attack on her by the member for Throsby. The way it was delivered really, really disappointed me, particularly on an issue as critical as ice. I apologise to you, member for Dobell, for the way that that was delivered and for what happened afterwards. I apologise to you because that is the last thing I want to see in our parliament, especially on an issue such as ice. The impact of the illicit drug trade on Australian society cannot be underestimated. It causes immeasurable harm. That is why the member for Dobell has moved this motion. I do not trivialise this for one moment and I certainly would not attack someone for raising this issue.

According to the National Drug Strategy, illegal drugs cost our nation $58.2 billion annually. However, as so many of us here know only too well, it is not only in monetary terms that we need to consider and manage the impact of illicit drugs on the Australian community. Numbers, like statistics, require assumptions and are open to interpretation. But the impact of drugs on individuals, their families and their communities does not. That is the exact point the member for Dobell was making.

The destruction of families and individuals dealing with addiction is often hidden, as we know when we talk to people in our communities. The families suffer enormous trauma. It has a deep and lasting impact on the whole family and friends. There is illness and death for the addict. The spouse, the children and the parents of the addict spend endless hours waiting, worrying and wondering whether they will get through another day. I meet them all the time in my electorate as part of my ice forum. That is why this matter needs to be taken seriously. It is not about politics; this is serious.

One of the most notable things about the ice epidemic is the number of older people who are taking up the habit. They are 30 or 35 years of age, well educated and in professional careers. They are people you would assume would automatically know better and would be immune from this scourge. It has a major impact on the whole family as well as on the individual's life and professional career.

Like the member for Dobell, I have been actively engaged on this issue, particularly around methamphetamine. When you are in your community you know why, when we come here and make serious speeches on a serious issue, it needs to be taken seriously by all sides of this House. I have seen the effects on our volunteer and emergency services people—St John Ambulance and in emergency departments—and most recently I have seen the effects of ice on individuals. In my electorate, in the ice forum, we heard that some of them are too frightened to go home and fearful for their personal safety. We heard from those suffering the financial burden and we heard from recovered addicts telling their stories and how to help others. We heard from the community professionals, including the WA police, on how best to manage the issue and how they themselves need assistance. So anything that we can do in this space, as the member for Dobell is doing, should be commended. I have set up a support group for the families most affected by the drugs. They talk to each other; they support each other. It is a simple way of trying to help each other through what is a dreadful time. You have to live it to know it, and those families know it every day.

Member for Dobell, this is a very good motion. The more we can bring focus to this issue and highlight the challenges facing families and individuals, the better. I commend you for this motion. The National Ice Taskforce members have been working hard in six areas: targeting primary prevention; improving access to early intervention, treatment and support services; supporting local communities—as we know, it affects the whole community; providing tools for front-line workers; taking law enforcement actions; and improving and consolidating research and data. Great job, Member for Dobell. I am very pleased to support your motion.

David Feeney (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor wholeheartedly welcomes the enhanced focus of this House on tackling the epidemic of ice in Australia. The latest Illicit drug data reportand the Australian Crime Commission's first report into the methamphetamine market paint a very grim picture of the impact that this drug is having on the Australian community. Both reports contain truly chilling statistics, and each of these statistics represent very personal stories of pain and the daily struggle of thousands of individuals and their families.

Labor notes and has welcomed the government's announcement of the National Ice Action Strategy and the establishment of a National Ice Taskforce, as well as the law enforcement initiative Dob in a Dealer. We have made it clear that Labor is committed to working with the government to help tackle the menace of ice. The National Drug Strategy, approved in February 2011, was an important step forward in preventing and treating illicit drug use. Expiring this year, there is an opportunity to make a real difference.

The threat of ice requires a strong national policy with a health based approach to complement law enforcement efforts. While those opposite have made the right noises when it comes to recognising the need for preventative and rehabilitative initiatives, so far, unfortunately, this has only been accompanied by cuts to front-line programs and services. The 2013-14 budget ripped $197 million from the flexible health funds, including an initial $7 million cut from the Substance Misuse Prevention and Service Improvement Grants Fund and a $1.2 million cut from the Substance Misuse Service Delivery Grants Fund. In this year's budget, it was announced that a further $596 million would be taken from these funds. In addition, those opposite are still refusing to confirm whether federal funding for the Non Government Organisation Treatment Grants Program will be extended beyond the financial year.

These massive cuts have created a deep sense of uncertainty within this very important sector. Services helping people overcome alcohol and illicit drug problems, including ice—services that were already struggling to cope with the increased demand—have now been put under even greater pressure. Given that the number of ice users has doubled in the past year, we cannot risk axing or dramatically reducing the support structures that are essential to all of us in tackling the ice problem.

The latest illicit drug report concluded that ice arrests were up 18 per cent over the reporting period and seizures were up 27 per cent. But the number of users is still up and the price of ice has remained stable or has even reduced. It is clear that this is not an issue that we can arrest our way out of. The models that have worked most effectively overseas are those models which involve a close integration of justice and public health systems. Those opposite must, if they truly desire progress on this issue, rule out further cuts to these important front-line services. They must provide real support and certainty to the services that do such incredible work in the preventative, rehabilitation, harm reduction and support service sector—people upon whom we all rely, people whose expertise is the key to tackling this menace.

Law enforcement initiatives that tackle supply and crack down on organised crime will always play an essential role in tackling the scourge of illicit drugs, but they must be complemented by an emphasis on treatment, education and community support to reduce demand. The government now has the final report of the National Ice Taskforce before it. This must be released, and the government's words must now be followed by real action and real support for front-line services.

Debate adjourned.