David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Gee! You just have to mention donations from big tobacco and you strike a nerve with the Nats.

We cannot talk about drug reform in Australia without acknowledging the huge influence that lobbyists have in this country and the lack of appetite to deal with that. We know how much of an issue alcohol and opioids are, but we're not seeing the focus on that. I would urge the major parties: let's have a serious conversation about this.

These matters are serious. Many people have lost loved ones to drugs and alcohol, and right now there will be Australians sitting at the phone wondering whether their loved ones are going to return to them. I think we do a great disservice by trivialising these experiences for the sake of some political theatre and to punch down on the ACT. It's simply not ever good enough to seek to dehumanise someone because they are living with addiction. We've seen what that stigma drives. It means that people don't go and get the support that they need. They feel isolated and they feel shame. Stigma kills, and it's been killing people with addiction for centuries.

Instead of having contrived inquiries singling out the ACT, we could look to restore national coordination and infrastructure and have some very focused discussions on community safety and on the strategies that address supply, demand and harm reduction. I stand ready to have those conversations. But that's not what this debate is about. This debate is singling out the ACT, when we know that this is an issue across the country. As I said, we saw the coalition defund a whole lot of bodies who were tasked with dealing with the very problem that Senator Cash is now so concerned about.

I do hope that we'll have a more serious discussion about drug reform. Clearly, the status quo isn't working. This is an issue in communities. There are families grieving. For many this is urgent. I strongly disagree that this is the way to deal with this, and I believe that Senator Cash's bill should be rejected by the Senate. I would be very open to looking at a way to look at this nationally—to looking at the national issue that this is—so that we can come up with a more coordinated response that will ensure that, when people need the support, they know where to go and there's not as much stigma attached to it, so we're not seeing the awful outcomes that we can all agree we need to avoid.