Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to support incredibly strongly, about as strong as I possibly could, this referral. I've listened to a lot of hyperbole and rhetoric from those opposite, but I've got to say the debate on this absolutely takes the cake. I want to read out what the motion actually says, because there are almost no words, which is actually pretty hard sometimes. I might put it this way: if you've got nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Those opposite and those on the crossbench are generally the first ones in line to argue transparency and to argue for Senate inquiries so that truth and information can come out. Let's have a look at how this motion actually reads, and then I'd like to deal with some of it in a bit more detail:

That the following matter be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee … The Australian Capital Territory Government's Drugs of Dependence (Personal Use) Amendment Act 2022, with particular reference to:

(a) operational issues that arise for police;

(b) the potential risks posed to police, ambulance officers and other first responders;

(c) the types and quantities of drugs permitted to be dealt with by the simple drug offence notice scheme;

(d) the interaction with Commonwealth law …

(e) the views of families who have lost loved ones to addiction and overdose …

It is inconceivable to those on this side of the chamber how Labor or the Greens or anybody else in this chamber could possibly argue against an inquiry into those matters. It is not about territory rights. With wall-to-wall Labor governments on mainland Australia, this Senate inquiry is incredibly important because once one Labor government implements legislation like this you can be sure that all other Labor state and territory governments will start to implement this.

My colleague Senator Cash has very articulately said why this is such a bad law. Senator Scarr also talked about the actual experiences in the United States of communities who have implemented similar freedoms from restrictions on drugs. Let's have a look at what law enforcement here in the ACT have said about this change due to come in in two weeks. The Chief Police Officer in the ACT has said—and I'm going to read out word for word what he said, because I want everybody in this place to really understand the implications on police, emergency services and health workers:

We legalised cannabis in 2021, and there was a 20 per cent increase in usage, so it's safe to assume we are going to see an increase in other drug usage, and Canberra already has a fairly strong use of cocaine per head of population. The nation will be watching us—we are the first to go this far.

But, as I've said, they will not be the last government on mainland Australia to do this.

Here in the ACT you will be allowed 1.5 grams, which is 15 hits, which costs about $1,500. Not many users themselves will have that amount of money. This could actually see other crimes. Meth, or ice, as we all know in this place, is highly addictive. The worry is people will go on four- or five-day meth benders, go out on a drive and kill someone. That is a very real threat. The Chief Police Officer also said that last year here in the ACT they had 18 people die—a 300 per cent increase on the rolling average—and most of those people had meth or cannabis in their system.

The Chief Police Officer said he was also worried that the ACT might turn out to be like San Francisco, Portland and Vancouver, where personal use of hard drugs has also been relaxed. Senator Scarr has just given us some detail from inquiries and reports into those areas, and it is truly alarming. The Chief Police Officer here in the ACT had also been over to have a look at those experiences, and he said, 'From what I saw over there in February this year, it is not working.' And not only is it not working; what he saw was not pretty. He said he saw, in the States:

… people smoking crack in the streets, and the cops are turning a blind eye to that usage. Cops are walking around giving people a nudge to make sure they are not dead … A city like San Francisco has entire blocks that are literally no-go zones. Whole neighbourhoods are boarded up with people walking around zombified.

Ahead of the change, he also told a newspaper this week that it would be:

… naive not to think people won't come down, even for a weekend, to get on the coke and not worry about the cops … it's a reality we can't ignore.

The experience in North America demonstrates that his concerns are absolutely valid. He also outlined the possibility that methamphetamine use could result in an increase in the road toll and that violence could increase between organised criminals, including bikie gangs, in a bid to capture a share of a rapidly expanding drug market here in the ACT. He also acknowledged that, to be honest, we just don't know what will happen, but clearly it will not be positive for people in the ACT.

The Federal Police commissioner, Commissioner Kershaw, also made the point in a federal government parliamentary inquiry that it could well lead to narco-tourism:

It's going to mean that organised crime will want to target this community in particular because they can move their product quite easily—

in and out of the Australian Capital Territory—

It just makes it more difficult for us to combat the rise of cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin use. They're not recreational drugs.

We all know it is very rare for police officers to speak out so openly, but Commissioner Kershaw has extensive experience and he has made a call that these drugs are incredibly dangerous for the community.

Let's also have a look at what the Police Federation of Australia chief Scott Weber has said about this legislation. He's also called it an absolute disaster, and he's echoed concerns from the police and community ahead of the legislation coming into effect in two weeks. A couple of weeks ago, Mr Weber told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement that community, health and police services were not adequately prepared for the change here in the ACT. For all of the huffing and puffing, the moralising and the accusations that we on this side of the parliament don't want to provide mental health support and other supports to people who are addicted to hard and serious drugs—of course we do, and that is one of the main reasons this legislation is so appalling. It will make more people addicted to drugs, it will increase mental health problems and it will decrease law and order. The police have been very clear about that. The Police Federation of Australia chief also said:

It's going to be a drain on resources for not only policing but the community as a whole. The health system is already struggling. We've seen that through COVID. This is just another facet that's going to put more pressure on the—

health system, which under Labor, here in the ACT, is already struggling.

They also made a point about narco-tourism, which has now occurred in the three North American cities that we've talked about. The evidence is very clear. He also talked about what's going to happen to Canberra. In the future:

You don't fly down to Canberra to see the nation's capital for the art gallery and the museums and everything Canberra has to offer; you fly down there—

or drive down the Hume Highway—

for a party, to get on illicit drugs because it's more readily available—

much easier to obtain—

and, if you do get caught with 1.5 grams, you're not going to have a criminal record—

In fact, you'd get less of a fine than if you parked in the wrong place in the Parliamentary Triangle.

For all of these reasons, there is nothing to be afraid of having in having an inquiry into the impacts that this will have on policing, health, mental health programs and families here in the ACT. It is not about territory rights. This is about understanding what impact relaxing these drug laws will have in this instance in this jurisdiction. But mark our words on this side of the chamber: once it comes into effect in the ACT, there will be a conga line of Labor governments, with the support of the Greens, looking to introduce these laws, which will only make our communities less safe and create more mental health problems and more law-and-order problems. It will be much harder for our police—federal and state—to enforce drug laws at the borders. For all these reasons, I would urge all colleagues in this place to support this referral to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee.