Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

But not only that; those rages risk the safety and welfare of emergency service workers, health professionals and bystanders. They are the ones who are going to be cleaning up the problem—'That's their problem.'—and the suppliers of these hard drugs, organised crime figures and outlaw motorcycle gangs, will actually be the real beneficiaries of these laws. And guess what? In Canberra now you will pay—I kid you not, colleagues—more for parking across the lines in a shopping centre than if you are caught carrying ice. You will actually pay more for stopping your car near a post box in the ACT than for possessing heroin.

Let's just put this into context. Lawyers, police and pharmacists have explicitly warned against these laws. The ACT Law Society has said the ACT drug laws would have a minimal effect on diverting drug users away from the criminal justice system. The AFP have given evidence about cycles of crime that link drug use to offences, including assault, burglary, stolen motor vehicles, theft, justice procedures and firearms. They also gave operational examples of how a similar personal use scheme has been exploited to sell cannabis to Canberra schoolchildren as young as 12 years old. But, despite this evidence, guess what? It slipped through the ACT Legislative Assembly and, in two weeks time, the reality of what I am saying is about to become a fact. Let's have a look at what our pharmacists have said. By any length of it, they are on the front line of addiction and dangerous drug use every day. They have expressly said that the ACT drug laws would be counterproductive to the aim of harm minimisation.

As we stand here, all we are asking for is the ability for the Senate to undertake an enquiry into the operational effect of these laws—because, ultimately, it is not the ACT government that is going to pay for this bad law; the people I have referred to are going to.

But let's look at other potential effects and the people who will actually pay for the ACT government's cavalier approach to drug policy. The first group will be people who travel down the Hume Highway hoping to experience in two weeks time the ACT's party lifestyle. For many, it will end in addiction and heartache and for some it will end in death. The second group who will pay are the first responders, the emergency responders and the bystanders. They are the ones who will have to clean up the mess. The final group who will pay are the families. I have been personally contacted by families in the ACT who have lost children because they overdosed on drugs. They are the final group who will pay.

In my humble opinion, it is only misery that can result from this terrible new law. All we are asking for is for the Senate to have the ability to undertake a review, for the reasons that I have set out. In two weeks time drugs will be legal in those amounts in the ACT. I believe the Australian Senate has a responsibility to review the impact, the scope and the issues that will come for the police, for families and other first responders. I would hope that all of us in the Senate can unite in that regard and support the motion.