Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. I'm very proud to bring my Medicinal Cannabis Legislation Amendment (Securing Patient Access) Bill 2017 to the Senate. On behalf of those many thousands of Australians who are suffering as a result of this government's failure to secure timely access to a medication that we know relieves people of suffering.

I'm introducing this bill in the name of Australian patients who are sick and tired of the obstacles that are put in front of them and of the regulatory nightmare that this government's medicinal cannabis framework has become. Doctors who desperately want to give treatments that relieve people of distressing symptoms are facing hurdle after hurdle after hurdle when they try to access medicinal cannabis. I have to say that it is remarkable that we have a government of this nation that would make life for terminally-ill patients so difficult, and I am proud that the Senate, based on the preliminary discussions we've had with members of the chamber, looks like it will support this move to secure timely access to medicinal cannabis.

We worked very constructively during the early days of the government's legislation on medicinal cannabis. The history of this legislation is one that we Greens are very, very proud of. We established a cross-party working group—members of the government, members of the opposition, members of the crossbench—to work constructively to try and bring the stories of people who are suffering here to Canberra and put them in front of politicians so that they could understand just how important it was that individuals who are suffering needlessly and have potentially a remedy that could relieve them of symptoms like intractable nausea, pain, muscle spasms and so on.

We worked very constructively through that cross-party working group, and the pressure came to bear on the government, who ultimately said, 'We will move. Please don't introduce your legislation, because we are prepared to act.' The Greens had legislation ready to go. In good faith, we accepted the government's word that they would introduce legislation that would make sure that individuals who were suffering got timely access to medicinal cannabis. I'll be very frank: it was a mistake. It was a mistake to trust this government. It was a mistake to hand over the legislative response to medicinal cannabis to a government who has shown itself to be more interested in giving the appearance of doing something when, in substance, it is making life so difficult for suffering people. Instead of having a pathway to access, what we do have is this disaster of regulation and red tape, which I can only assume is because they have some ideological objection to providing life-saving medicines to people simply because there's stigma associated with cannabis.

When it comes to the patients who we know will benefit from this bill, let's remember who they are. We are only talking about patients who are suffering and who, by definition, have a terminal illness. What the government are doing by opposing this legislation is saying, 'We want to make your life more difficult in your final months when you're suffering from terminal cancer which might produce symptoms like intractable nausea.' That is, you're having chemotherapy and you can't keep your food down because of the nausea that's not responding to the traditional agents that we give you. If you have a response to medicinal cannabis that allows you to tolerate food, that helps you maintain your condition and that can give you, in your final months of life, a higher quality of life, the government are saying, 'We don't want that. We're going to stop that.'

The Australian Greens are standing up for those patients. We're standing up for those patients because we don't believe any government should get in the way of access to medicines that make their final few months a little easier with a little less suffering. This bill makes two small changes—they're only small—to give dying patients rapid access to medicinal cannabis when a doctor has prescribed it. Let's be clear about this: this is only after medicinal cannabis has been prescribed by a doctor.

The first amendment is to ensure that the government follows what the Senate has already ordered this government to do, and that is to allow the importation of medicinal cannabis for terminally ill patients through what's known as category A of the Special Access Scheme. Only a few short weeks ago in this chamber we saw a Greens motion supported by the Labor Party and members of the crossbench—I see Senator Hinch is behind me; he's also been a strong advocate for medicinal cannabis. We saw members of the crossbench and the Labor Party introduce a motion that should have made access to medicinal cannabis through category A of the Special Access Scheme much easier and, instead, the government refused to accept the will of the Senate. The government has ignored the Senate, has threatened importers and has gone so far as to say that they would have their permits revoked if they followed the law. This bill ensures that the government can no longer block that importation of medicinal cannabis for category A—that is, those people who have a terminal illness.

The second amendment to this legislation just levels the playing field so that, when they become available, Australian medicinal cannabis products, not just those from overseas, can be provided through category A. The problem we have at the moment is we don't have a mature medicinal cannabis industry in this country, and that is why we needed, through our previous motion, to allow the importation of medicinal cannabis for people with a terminal illness. But we think that the moment Australian product comes online that should also be made available through the Special Access Scheme. We want a vibrant, mature, effective medicinal cannabis scheme in Australia. We know it's good for patients, but it's also good for Australian farmers. We want to make sure that that industry thrives, and we want to make sure that they have the best incentives to supply medicinal cannabis to terminal patients who need it most.

I know that this bill won't fix everything. One of the problems we have is that we have different layers of regulation. Once people get through the first hurdle—that is, federal red tape—there are also the layers of regulation at a state level which need to be addressed. We can't do much about that right now, except continue to put pressure to bear on those states who are also dragging their heels. What we can do is make sure that that first barrier—that is, the restrictions that are put in place by the federal government—is addressed.

I have spoken with many patients and their families; I know how much this change means to them. We all know the story of Lucy Haslam's son, Dan, who was a young man with terminal bowel cancer. This is a man in his 20s who developed bowel cancer, was having chemotherapy and wasn't getting any relief from his nausea from those traditional agents that we use to treat chemotherapy induced nausea. He got instant relief from medicinal cannabis after it was suggested to his family by a friend, and as a result he was able to tolerate food and his quality of life improved immeasurably. I have spoken to patients who have had brain tumours and, again, have found that the relief that medicinal cannabis provides them is significant. While it might not save their lives, it improves their quality of life in those final few months. We Greens stand here today with those many thousands of Australians who are suffering, or indeed are caring for someone who is suffering, and who know that as a result of the lack of access to these treatments they are being denied treatment that could make such a difference to their quality of life. We are going to keep fighting until patients can safely and quickly access these medicines.

I'm so proud to bring this bill to the Senate. I'm absolutely delighted that we're achieving a rare victory here today, and that is that the majority of the Senate looks like it will stand with us in opposition to this government's cruel intransigence. We will also pursue this in the lower house. I know there are members of the LNP who say they support medicinal cannabis, who want medicinal cannabis to be made available from doctors through a regulated framework and who want to make sure that patients who live in their own constituencies get access to these medicines. I know they're out there because I've spoken to them. I say this to them right now: this legislation looks like it will pass the Senate. Have the guts and the decency to stand up when this legislation makes it through to the lower house. Cross the floor if you have to. We only need one or two of you to stand up and have a bit of courage to say you stand with patients and their needs, not your own political self-interest, and we can get this through both houses of parliament. In the meantime, I'll be pursuing a meeting with Minister Hunt. I'll be doing what I can to ensure that he understands just how critical it is that this bill gets through the Senate.

When we are elected to this place, we make a commitment to those people who elect us that we will act in their interests—that we will come to this place and represent them. We have an opportunity to help people who are now suffering, whose lives will be cut short because of the tragedy of a terminal illness. We have an obligation to them to make sure we do everything we can to make their final days on this earth as tolerable as possible and to relieve them of the pain and suffering that they're experiencing. I can think of no greater obligation given to us in this place, and today's an opportunity for members to stand up and indicate that they stand with those patients.