Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make some brief remarks about the Narcotic Drugs (Licence Charges) Amendment Bill 2022. As a member of this chamber, I have not sought to engage too widely on these matters because I have largely seen them as matters that have been the preserve of the states. I note Senator Shoebridge has a proposal here which is based on advice from the Senate, and I look forward to engaging in that process next year. But it certainly has not been something that I have sought to focus on in the limited time I have had in the Senate.

What I would say is that I believe the intention of the former health minister, Greg Hunt, was to make it easier for people to get access to medicinal cannabis, to lower the regulatory burden and to reduce costs and complexity so that access is there for people. I note that these are sensitive issues, but I think there is a strong body of medical evidence that there are cases when the only relief available to people for extreme pain is going to be medicinal cannabis. I think we have a problem if people cannot get access to that particular drug when they need it.

The object of this bill is to build on the changes that were commissioned by the former coalition government to ensure that licence fees and charges are better aligned with the new licensing framework. We accepted all the recommendations of the McMillan review on these matters. This is another down payment on that front. The guiding principle here is that we want people to get access to medicinal cannabis. That is the key point. We don't want people to be pushed into the black market. We want people to be able to access it through an above-the-counter type of approach as much as possible. That will be the test for this bill. We will be supporting it and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. No doubt we will have further opportunities to debate these matters. I again note my understanding, which could be flawed—we do make mistakes from time to time—that most of these matters in relation to the regulation of these particular arrangements are largely the preserve of the states. I thank the Senate for the opportunity to make some brief remarks this morning.