Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this bill, the Narcotic Drugs Legislation Amendment Bill 2016 and the related bill. These two bills are very important and, as the previous speaker has said, they complete the legislation necessary in relation to medicinal cannabis.

The senators in this chamber might recall that the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee was referred this bill in the last parliament. It was a private member's bill submitted, as I recall, by Senator Di Natale and it was a rather complex bill. The committee took some time, and I think we held inquiries in three or four different places throughout the country, investigating medicinal cannabis. The committee was persuaded—relatively easily, I might say—by the evidence that came before us that, with the proper safeguards, medicinal cannabis would be a useful addition to the suite of drugs, tools and procedures available to Australian health practitioners to deal with some illnesses. The committee was persuaded by a number of very telling pieces of evidence from people who spoke about their family's involvement. People were telling us that they were breaking the law—illegally sourcing cannabis—and they did not care. In fact, I do recall that as a committee we warned a couple of people. We said, 'Perhaps you'd rather give your evidence in camera; perhaps you'd rather not give the evidence at all,' because they were effectively conceding that they were breaking the law by using medicinal cannabis that had been imported from overseas or obtained locally in some cases. To a person, people said to us: 'Thanks for the warning, but this has been so beneficial to a member of our family that we don't care. If the police want to arrest us as we leave here, let them do it.' That was because medicinal cannabis is the only drug that has given their loved ones relief. There was quite a bit of that evidence and, as I said, the committee was persuaded that the idea was a good one.

There were some reservations about the complex nature of the bill—and I mentioned that it was a complex private member's bill. I mean no disrespect to Senator Di Natale. As an opposition member in this chamber he does not have access to the resources that governments have when preparing bills. The committee looked into the various provisions of the bill very, very carefully and, as I recall, our suggestion was that the bill perhaps not be passed because of some difficulties with the technical aspects of it. But the committee recommended to the government that it take it over, and I have to say all credit to Senator Di Natale, who did not object to the committee's proposition that the government take over the bill or introduce its own bill for the long-term purposes of allowing the use of medicinal cannabis under very strictly controlled conditions that were safe for the users. Madam Acting Deputy President Reynolds—I think you were a member of that committee, from memory—we were pleased to support Senator Di Natale's bill in its concept but not in its exact detail.

As a result of that, all credit then goes to the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Sussan Ley, who understood and accepted the broad recommendations of the committee that the time had come for medicinal cannabis to be available in Australia. She and her department then embarked upon the process of drawing up the legislation, getting it before parliament and having it pass through parliament. I heard what the previous speaker said, rather disingenuously, when she criticised the government for not getting the first bill right and having to come back with the two bills before us: the Narcotic Drugs Legislation Amendment Bill and the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Bill. With due respect to the previous speaker, I think she was just having a bit of a slash. Labor, even though they agree with the bills, cannot allow them to go through without having something nasty to say about the government, so I guess we can excuse her for that rather partisan comment. These bills actually are the completion of the suite.

I have to say I have been surprised at the number of Australians who are interested in this whole subject. I knew from the committee hearings that people benefited from medicinal cannabis. They gave very substantial and very persuasive evidence. But since then, in particular up my way—and I understand this happens everywhere around Australia—I have heard that there are a lot of enterprising farmers who want to be part of a new growth industry of medicinal cannabis.

You can never raise this subject without smiling. I remember I inappropriately said—it was only a joke but you should not joke about this—at one stage during the course of this: 'Come up to North Queensland. You don't need to cultivate. There is plenty up there growing wild that you could use.' But the growth of medicinal cannabis requires a very special process. The evidence given to us told us that medicinal cannabis, as many of you know who may have smoked it in the past—I have to say I am probably the one person in Australia that for no particular reason has never, ever smoked marijuana.

Senator Williams interjecting—

You too, Senator Williams. I probably would have if I had been around somewhere it might have been, but I never did.