Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport, I present the committee's report entitled Issues paper relating to the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia, together with a corrigendum and the minutes of proceedings.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Substance abuse has long been a profound challenge facing communities across our nation and indeed all over the world since time immemorial.

In Australia, harm related to alcohol and other drugs is one of our most significant public health crises—a major cause of preventable disease, illness and death. The health impacts span a devastating spectrum, from substance abuse disorders and mental illness to infectious diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and liver disease, injury, overdose and even effects on the unborn fetus.

But the toll extends far beyond individual health. Alcohol and other drug use casts a long shadow across our society and economy, contributing to family violence, child abuse and neglect, gambling addiction and family breakdown. It places immense pressure on our police, community service workers and the criminal justice system.

Six months ago, when the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport embarked on this inquiry into the health impacts of alcohol and other drug use, we recognised a pivotal moment of opportunity. With both the National Drug Strategy and the National Alcohol Strategy approaching their conclusion, we had a chance to ensure that the next iterations of these crucial strategies could benefit from the research powers of a committee of the parliament. In particular, the committee was very keen to see these strategies informed by a comprehensive understanding of the sector's needs.

The committee was grateful to receive written evidence and hear from witnesses about a range of issues pertaining to current alcohol and other drugs service delivery, the need for developing responses tailored to different communities, and the urgent challenge of raising the capacity of the workforce across this sector. We heard of new challenges, new drugs and new ways of delivering support.

The fact that the committee received over 200 submissions from a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies, peak bodies, researchers, clinicians and harm reduction services among others, speaks to the level of interest in and urgent need for addressing harms from substance abuse.

We know that substance use does not impact all Australians equally. Our most vulnerable populations bear a disproportionate burden of alcohol and other drug related harm. This inequity demands that our policy responses be both targeted and equitable, ensuring that a person's background or location never stands as a barrier between them and adequate help.

In the time available, there were elements of the inquiry's terms of reference that the committee was unable to fully explore. Accordingly, the committee recommends and wishes that the inquiry be continued in the next parliament. And I commit to that, provided I'm re-elected. We present this issues paper now as both a summary of the substantial evidence we've already gathered and to identify some of the lines of inquiry which should be pursued. We must remain vigilant in studying evolving patterns of substance abuse and the emergence of new drugs that pose grave threats to our community.

In closing, I wish to thank the federal and state government departments and agencies, peak bodies, think tanks, academics, health practitioners, research organisations and members of the public who all provided invaluable input into this inquiry. The overwhelming response to our call for submissions reflects how deeply this issue resonates across the country in all societies.

The committee was particularly grateful for the opportunity to visit the Salvation Army's Access Health, the Windana adult residential detox centre in St Kilda and the Alcohol and Drug Assessment Unit of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. We were impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the healthcare and social workers at these facilities who so generously shared their time with us.

I would also like to thank the committee itself. It's a great committee. I am very grateful to all the members of the committee, including, although not exclusively, the member for Hughes, the member for Werriwa, the member for Kooyong and the member for Robertson. But most of all I'd like to express my gratitude to the initial deputy chair of the committee, Melissa McIntosh, the member for Lindsay, whose intelligence and hard work significantly improved the committee's function. In particular, I'd also like to thank Julian Leeser, the member for Berowra, in his role as the ongoing deputy chair of the committee, for his intelligence, hard work and really indefatigable work for the committee and across the parliament. It was really great to work with him and a great privilege to do so.

Lastly, I'd like to thank our secretariat. I cannot express how impressed I am by their intelligence, their hard work and the really wonderful camaraderie that they developed within the whole committee. They are often unsung, but they are real jewels in our parliament. I thank Mr Andrew Bray, the committee secretary, and the inquiry secretary, Iva Glisic, so much for their help and support. It has been wonderful to work with them and I hope to work with them further in the future.

So I commend the issues paper relating to the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia to the parliament. I look forward to continuing this work in the next parliament. My deputy secretary will say a few words as well.

Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted.

Let me begin by thanking my friend the member for Macarthur, who chaired this inquiry and is hugely respected across this parliament for his knowledge, wisdom and experience as a medical practitioner but also for the way that he's conducted not just this inquiry but committees over the entire parliament. It is really a privilege to work with him. Let me echo his words about our excellent secretariat and the other members of the committee, with whom it's been a privilege to work. Let me also thank all those who have made submissions to this inquiry.

In the short time since this inquiry was referred to the committee, we have not had adequate time to hear from the full range of witnesses or consider an adequate range of evidence to allow the committee to draw conclusions. Therefore, what we've produced is an issues paper that a future parliament might pick up and that witnesses might respond to in helping any future committee arrive at recommendations for policy reform. Nothing that appears in this issues paper should be taken as the committee expressing a concluded view about the evidence presented to it. This issues paper highlights areas requiring deeper exploration and careful analysis before drawing conclusions.

I want to bring attention to two issues today which I think it's very important for any future committee to consider. Firstly, chapters 3 and 5 raise controversial discussions around harm minimisation and approaches to law enforcement. Speaking for myself, I would have real difficulty supporting a so-called harm minimisation approach to dealing with illicit drugs. While we've heard from many advocates of harm minimisation, the committee hasn't heard from state and territory law enforcement and other broader community stakeholders to better test these strategies. I therefore want to make a special call to state and territory police to participate in any future inquiry. We need to hear from the men and women at the forefront of keeping our community safe.

Secondly, I want to turn to the question of nicotine addiction. In this report, we make the following observation:

While the use of vapes or e-cigarettes is not the focus of this inquiry, the Committee acknowledges the concern that has been raised by witnesses regarding the use of these products, as younger people are at greater risk of developing nicotine dependence than adults.

I want to say a few things briefly about this issue because it's one of increasing importance to our community. If the next parliament takes up this inquiry, I think it has a duty to examine the growing impact of e-cigarettes, vaping and nicotine addiction on our young people. In recent months, I've had concerned parents write to me about the ease of their children getting vapes and I've heard anecdotal stories about the illegal tobacco trade operating even in our own community, and I've raised these issues with local police. Young Australians face a heightened risk of nicotine dependency, increasingly fuelled by the surge in vaping and e-cigarette use.

Stories in the media in recent months indicate that the illegal tobacco trade is thriving across our nation. What's often overlooked is how the black market boom is closely linked with rising vape and e-cigarette sales. In my own electorate, we're seeing a sudden rise in the number of tobacconists sprouting up in nearly every suburb, especially near transport hubs frequented by schoolchildren. These shops are strategically marketing chocolate, lollies and other sweets to deliberately entice children onto the premises. The tactic isn't accidental. It lures our young people into the stores, transitioning them into illegal nicotine products as they grow older.

I think the next parliament has to look at this. It puzzles me, for instance, that in my home state of New South Wales, while stringent approvals and licensing for liquor stores are required, as they should be, tobacconists can operate with minimal oversight, minimal approval and minimal licensing. I note the coalition has proposed a $250 million illegal tobacco and vaping taskforce led by Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force to tackle illegal vapes from the border to the shopfront. This will provide desperately needed federal leadership to crack down on organised criminal activity and protect Australian children. The duty to protect our young people lies with every single one of us, especially those elected to represent our communities.

I make no apology for calling out those who seek to market nicotine products to children. I make no apology for calling out those who to seek to spread disinformation and misinformation about nicotine products contrary to health advice. I make no apology for standing strong against the scourge of those who'd see our children face a life of dependence and addiction.