Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) 31 August 2017 marked the 16th annual International Overdose Awareness Day, commemorating all those who have died or been seriously injured due to drug overdose,

  (ii) annual accidental drug-related deaths are now more than double the road toll,

  (iii) Aboriginal people are drastically and tragically over-represented in our overdose death numbers at a rate of 18.3 per 100 000 compared with 5.9 for non-Aboriginal people, and

  (iv) the significant increases in deaths related to pharmaceutical opioids continue to rise; and

(b) calls on the Government to urgently address the rising rates of harm associated with drug use by implementing and appropriately resourcing evidence-based harm reduction policies, including:

  (i) greater access to needle and syringe programs across the country, including urgent rollout of trials inside prisons,

  (ii) expanded access to medically supervised injecting facilities across Australia,

  (iii) promoting awareness of the life-saving opioid reversal drug naloxone, highlighting its availability over the counter in pharmacies,

  (iv) working with state and territory governments to cease the use of drug sniffer dogs at festivals and introduce urgent trials of pill testing during the upcoming festivals season, and

  (v) speed the introduction of real time prescription monitoring of pharmaceutical opioids.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition government do not support enhancing people's ability to take illegal drugs. The majority of the matters raised in the motion are primarily the remit of the states and territories. The government's position on these matters is consistent with the principles set out in Australia's National Drug Strategy, which encourages all governments to support people to recover from substance-use dependence and to reintegrate with the community. A drug-testing service is not part of our commitment to tackling drug use. Our balanced approach is based on evidence and incorporates prevention, early intervention and healthcare strategies, as well as law enforcement. The government do not support making illegal drugs more accessible. We do not support ceasing the use of sniffer dogs. In July, the government announced an investment of over $16 million to deliver the national rollout of real-time prescription monitoring for medicines to directly address the needless loss of life from misuse of these drugs.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor has a proud record of minimising the harms that come from drugs. For example, it was the Hawke Labor government that established the national Needle and Syringe Program. In the decade to 2010 alone, the NSP is estimated to have prevented over 30,000 cases of HIV and around 100,000 cases of hepatitis C. But policies in this complex and sensitive area should not be made by stunt motions on the floor of the Senate. Several of the recommendations in this motion also require careful coordination between the Commonwealth and states. So, while Labor recognise International Overdose Awareness Day, we will not be supporting this motion.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a great tragedy that we are now seeing more accidental drug deaths than we are seeing people die on the roads. In fact, the number of accidental drug deaths is now more than double the road toll, with Aboriginal people tragically overrepresented. We are now seeing more people die from prescription opiates than we are seeing people die from heroin. We need to recognise that the war on drugs is not a war on drugs; it's a war on people. It's time we started treating this as a health issue, not simply a law-and-order issue. We need to remove the criminal penalties associated with individuals who use drugs and make sure that they see a doctor, not a policeman or a judge, because they have a health issue. We need to ensure that we expand the role of harm reduction with needle and syringe exchange programs in prisons, with drug testing at festivals, by removing sniffer dogs, which cause more deaths than they save people, and by ensuring that we have real-time prescription monitoring for pharmaceutical opiates. We need to change what we are doing.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion moved by Senator Di Natale be agreed to.