Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Williams, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the importance of education as part of the campaign to combat the dangers of 'ice' in Australian society, particularly amongst vulnerable youths, and

(ii) the success of the most recent phase of the national drugs campaign 'Ice Destroys Lives', with feedback reporting that 94 per cent of youths who saw the campaign stating they had taken some action as a result, either by talking to peers or to their parents, or by changing their thinking about 'ice', and 51 per cent of at-risk youth who had seen these advertisements saying they would now avoid using 'ice'; and

(b) condemns those who downplay the dangers of 'ice' by calling for the legalisation of a hazardous and toxic substance that destroys brain function, mental wellbeing, general health, employment, relationships, lives and families.

David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a brief statement

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion states that ice is dangerous and destructive. I agree. But the motion then makes an extraordinary leap of logic and condemns those calling for the legalisation of ice. Ice is wreaking havoc right now while it remains illegal. But prohibition has never succeeded anywhere. To rule out options without proposing any solution yourself is wrong. To rule out options without hearing from two current inquiries into ice, one of which I am involved in, is knee-jerk politics. At this stage I do not support the legalisation of ice but I maintain an open mind about the decriminalisation of the possession of ice for personal use. I note that this approach has been adopted in Portugal and has succeeded in getting users into treatment and dramatically reducing drug-related crime.

Question agreed to.