Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Ellison. Will the minister update the Senate on the Australian government’s commitment to the fight against illicit drugs? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Payne for what is a very important question which all Australians are vitally interested in. Today we announced the arrest of four people in Sydney in relation to the seizure of 120 kilograms of pseudoephedrine. Pseudoephedrine is an important precursor that we are targeting in relation to the manufacture of amphetamine type stimulants. This is a scourge which Australia is experiencing perhaps more than any other country. This demonstrates the great work that Customs and the Australian Federal Police are doing in the fight against drugs. Of course, we have resourced those agencies in record proportions to lead the fight against illicit drugs in this country. We have tripled funding to the Australian Federal Police and, since 1997, the Howard government has devoted $1 billion to the Tough on Drugs strategy. Late last year, we brought in new laws which went through the Senate in relation to precursor chemicals. As a result of that, these people are charged under those laws and, upon conviction, face a maximum of 25 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $550,000.

As I said, amphetamine type stimulants are a big challenge to Australia. We have made progress in relation to the fight against heroin and we have seen levels of supply reduced. Recently, when I was in the United States and the United Kingdom, it was recognised that we had had great success at the law enforcement level in reducing the supply of heroin. Sadly, Australia leads the world in the uptake of amphetamine type stimulants. That is where our attention on precursor chemicals is so important. What is staggering is that today we saw a former Labor minister for justice and Attorney-General, Mr Duncan Kerr, the member for Denison, stating that he would support a safe injecting room in Tasmania likes the nation’s only one at Kings Cross. He also went on to say that he was a cautious supporter of testing for party drugs at nightspots but would like to see the tests improved to identify any ‘nasties’ contained in the pills. He said: ‘Then they can plan and manage the use of the drug.’ This is entirely inappropriate in the midst of the war that we have on amphetamine type stimulants. We are not dealing with party drugs, we are not dealing with recreational drugs; we are dealing with dangerous drugs that are killing Australians, particularly young Australians. That is why the member for Denison should really take stock of himself and look at what he is saying. Importantly, the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Beazley, should rule that out of order and unequivocally state that that is not part of Labor’s policy and approach to fighting illicit drugs.

The member for Denison is also very wrong when he says that 85 per cent of our funding goes on law enforcement. It was stated by TurningPoint Australia, a 2005 report, that 40 per cent of our expenditure goes to law enforcement. Out of that $1 billion, hundreds of millions of dollars goes on education and health. I have always said—and I say it again in this chamber—that our fight on drugs is on three fronts: education to reduce demand, particularly among young Australians; health to rehabilitate; and law enforcement to reduce supply. When you reduce supply, you enhance your chances of success with rehabilitation and reduction of demand.