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

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for his question and for the hard work he is doing on this issue, as are many of my other colleagues, including in this place particularly Senator McKenzie and Senator Smith.

Sadly, more Australians are being touched by this devastating drug each day. I am pleased to advise the chamber that the interim report from the ice task force was recently presented to COAG by the Prime Minister, looking to form a national ice strategy. The task force, led by former police commissioner in Victoria, Ken Lay, and supported by Professor Richard Murray and Dr Sally McCarthy, consulted extensively across the country with experts and with community groups and received around 1,200 written submissions that have been taken into account in preparing the interim report. There is no single approach to tackling this drug, but the task force has identified six key areas to guide work toward the development of the National Ice Action Strategy, which include focusing on law enforcement actions, looking at primary prevention, looking at early intervention and treatment and rehabilitation services, supporting local communities to respond to this issue, improving tools for front-line workers and looking at research and data.

In regard to law enforcement, new laws which passed the House of Representatives yesterday will crack down on middlemen and drug couriers bringing precursors into the country to make ice. Legislation was also changed to manage the proliferation of dangerous synthetic drugs at our borders and today the Prime Minister and Minister Keenan also announced funding totalling $18.2 million on a range of initiatives to bolster the fight against the ice scourge, with its money going to the Australian Crime Commission to further strengthen its crime-fighting capabilities. This is not an issue just for the government; we must deal with this with states and territories and local communities.