Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak in support of the Medicinal Cannabis Legislation Amendment (Securing Patient Access) Bill 2017. It is a great pleasure for me to follow Senator Urquhart in this debate, because Senator Urquhart has been, not only in our home state of Tasmania but also here in the parliament, a tireless advocate for improving access to medicinal cannabis. I echo my support for Senator Urquhart's contribution here today.

There will be many people watching and listening to the Senate this morning to see how this chamber votes on this bill. Included amongst those people listening will be Andrew Irving. As Senator Urquhart mentioned in her contribution, Andrew Irving and his wife, Marilyn, were key drivers in the creation of medicinal cannabis education trailers. They built and launched two. Senator Urquhart and I were at the launch of one of them up on the north-west coast. Indeed, that trailer was dedicated to Natalie Daley, who unfortunately passed away.

Andrew Irving has been a tireless advocate in producing educational information and ensuring that information is provided to not only those people who require medicinal cannabis but members of the community across the board to raise awareness about what we're talking about when we talk about medicinal cannabis. As Senator Urquhart indicated, we lost Marilyn earlier this year, but that hasn't stopped Andrew's drive to ensure that Tasmanians are informed about the benefits of medicinal cannabis and to engage Tasmanians to support the use of medicinal cannabis. I take this opportunity to commend and congratulate him on the work that he is doing.

Labor supports the changes proposed in this bill, which will improve access to medicinal cannabis for terminally ill patients. I again echo Senator Urquhart's comments where she congratulated Senator Di Natale on bringing this bill to the chamber.

Earlier this year we saw—and Labor supported—the disallowance motion, which the Senate passed, that allows patients to access imported medicinal cannabis products under category A of the Special Access Scheme. In one of those rather rare occurrences in this chamber, Labor, the Greens, One Nation, Senator Lambie, Senator Hinch, Senator Gichuhi and Senator Leyonhjelm were united in voting to disallow the government's restrictions. Only the Nick Xenophon Team and Senator Bernardi supported the government. As we've already heard in the previous contribution by Senator Kakoschke-Moore, the Nick Xenophon Team will be supporting this bill, so that is indeed very good news.

This bill will uphold the Senate's intent by amending the Customs Act 1901 to clarify that a licence permission, consent or approval to import medicinal cannabis applies to category A as well as other pathways. The Therapeutic Goods Administration states that category A is strictly limited to:

… patients who are seriously ill with a condition from which death is reasonably likely to occur within a matter of months, or from which premature death is reasonably likely to occur in the absence of early treatment.

We need to be clear in this debate that this is what we're talking about: we're talking, unfortunately, about Australians who are dying. We should also be clear that under category A of the Special Access Scheme only a doctor will be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis. What this bill and the debate in this chamber are about is whether dying patients who have a legitimate clinical need for medicinal cannabis should have access to it. Labor believes they should, and that is why Labor will be supporting this bill.

This bill will go some way in ensuring there is a legal and regulated market so that family members and carers aren't forced to rely on the black market to relieve the pain of their loved ones in their final stages of life. This is a complex issue, which Labor acknowledged in this chamber back in June when the Senate voted to improve access to medicinal cannabis for dying Australians. On balance, Labor is proud to stand up for the rights of terminally ill Australians who are in need of medicinal cannabis. The fact is that some terminally ill Australians cannot find relief from pain within existing therapeutic goods. Patients who are suffering from a terminal illness should have access to safe, reliable and legal medicinal cannabis if it is prescribed by their doctor.

I have been fortunate to meet with people who have been suffering unbearable pain and to see firsthand the benefits of medicinal cannabis. Sadly, not all Australians who need medicinal cannabis have access to it. That must change. This chamber's vote in June should have resolved this issue. Terminally ill patients should've had easier access by now to a prescribed therapy that can ease their suffering. Unfortunately, in the months since June the government has continued to deny the parliament's will and much-needed relief to dying Australians. Straight after the vote, we saw the health minister equate dying Australians and their families with drug smugglers. The health minister said the disallowance was—and I quote from the Fairfax newspapers—'reckless and irresponsible'. He said it would put lives at risk and potentially make it easier for criminals to get drugs.

Mr Turnbull should be ashamed of the way his government has tried to scaremonger on this issue, stigmatising dying people who are trying to access medicinal cannabis. Even worse, the government has put in place a new barrier to prevent people from accessing cannabis. In June, soon after the disallowance vote, the government wrote to medicinal cannabis importers instructing them not to supply products to anyone holding a prescription under category A of the Special Access Scheme. Instead of helping Australians with terminal illness and their families, Mr Turnbull's priority has been to find a way to get around the Senate's decision to give dying Australians access to the pain relief they need.

The bill before us today, the Medicinal Cannabis Legislation Amendment (Securing Patient Access) Bill, will enshrine the intent of our disallowance vote in legislation. Because the government hasn't respected the parliament's will, this bill will amend the Customs Act 1901 to clarify that a licence, permission, consent or approval to import medicinal cannabis applies to category A as well as other pathways. Secondly, the bill seeks to ensure that terminally ill patients can access domestic medicinal cannabis products under category A when they become available. The bill will also amend the Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 to add category A as one of the purposes for which the secretary of health can grant a licence to manufacture medicinal cannabis in Australia.

Ultimately, in Labor's view, medicinal cannabis should be treated in the same way as medicines: products will be accessed for safety and efficacy by the TGA and, where they pass the test, they will be prescribed by doctors, dispensed by pharmacists and, possibly one day, subsidised by the PBS. Labor understands that medicinal cannabis can ease suffering for Australians who are dying. That is why Labor led the way and introduced legislation for a national medicinal cannabis scheme in 2015 and supported the government's legislation when it was finally introduced in 2016. It's a terrible shame that we have a government that remains sceptical of medicinal cannabis and has been much too slow to implement the national scheme.

The government has also failed to drive consistency across the states on the legal treatment of people currently accessing medicinal cannabis. Mr Shorten has written to Mr Turnbull three times urging action and offering support. But patients have seen no change. That is another reason why Labor is supporting the bill that is before us, because the government has failed time and time again to improve other pathways. Passage of this bill will be a step in the right direction. However, it will not be the end of the matter. I would like to see, and Labor is committed to, ensuring safe and timely access to medicinal cannabis is made available across Australia where it is appropriate to do so.

Unlike this government, Labor is committed to making sure those who are terminally ill have the access to treatment options they need and deserve. That is why we'll be supporting this bill. And I hope, when this bill is passed today, that the government will do the right thing and we can see this bill passed in the House of Representatives.