Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the scourge of the ice epidemic and some of the great work being done in my community to address it.    As a former criminal lawyer, I have seen firsthand the devastating evil of this drug. It is a drug that does not discriminate, with people of all ages and backgrounds potentially at risk of having their lives and the lives of those closest to them destroyed by it. That is why I applaud the leadership shown by this government in creating the National Ice Taskforce and developing a national action strategy in response to its findings.

The strategy supports a joint national focus on tackling ice and includes achievable actions across a range of areas that will help reduce the supply and use of this insidious drug in Australia, and, consequently, the harm it causes. The objective of the strategy is to ensure that: families and communities have better access to information, support together with the tools to help them to respond to the drug; prevention messages are targeted at high-risk populations and accurate information about ice is more accessible; early intervention and treatment services are better tailored to respond to ice and meet the needs of the populations we serve; law enforcement efforts are better targeted to disrupt the supply of ice; and better evidence is available to drive our responses to the drug.

Effective 1 July this year, the Australian government is providing an additional $298.2 million over four years towards a number of measures to reduce the impacts associated with the drug and alcohol misuse on individuals, communities and families. This funding will strengthen education, prevention, treatments, sport and community engagement. It is provided under the National Ice Taskforce. Already the coalition government has taken practical steps to fight the scourge, including $1 million to boost Crime Stoppers with their Dob in a Dealer program, $9.8 million over two years to establish a new national crime intelligence system, $5 million for the ACC's transnational crime analysts and $3.4 million over two years to boost the ACC's capability to target money-laundering activities to undermine the business models of transnational criminal syndicates.

Although I am proud of the work our government is doing to address this issue nationally, I want to stress that the primary responsibility for funding drug and alcohol rehabilitation and treatment services resides with state and territory governments. To date, I have seen very little action from the South Australian government in my community to address this issue. The good news is that there are some very positive steps being taken in my community, regardless of the lack of noticeable action from the state government. I want to pay tribute to the Substance Misuse Limestone Coast working party. This group of dedicated professionals seeks to facilitate the establishment of a community-based collaborative model to address the needs of drug and alcohol misuse across the Limestone Coast region. Their dedication and planning, with such professionalism, to address the issue of substance misuse in the region is to be commended, and I look forward to working with them to achieve their success.