Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I can report to the Senate that this drug is having a devastating impact across rural and regional communities everywhere. As Senator Williams has indicated, it is shearing sheds, it is football clubs, it is communities and it is families on the ground. There are no restrictions on when and where this drug is hitting—it is young people, middle-aged people, old people; people that you would least expect are having their lives touched by this devastating drug. Over the last three years, the proportion of methamphetamine users using ice has increased from 22 per cent to 50 per cent. That is an exponential increase and that is why this government is so focused on making sure that we have a strategy that is going to deal with this and put this drug where it needs to be—out of reach. Particularly for young people we need to ensure there is an education campaign. We want our young people to never, ever be involved with this drug.