Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the committee's report Public communications campaigns targeting drug and substance abuse, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement report Public communications campaigns targeting drug and substance abuse. Drug use in Australia is on the rise. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission reported that over the past decade, while the Australian population increased by 13 per cent, the number of illicit drug seizures increased by 77 per cent and the weight of the illicit drugs seized nationally increased by 241 per cent. Statistics such as these highlight why illicit drug use in Australia is a growing concern for not only law enforcement but the broader society. There is an ongoing need to reduce the number of people who use drugs in the first place and also to have robust harm-minimisation strategies in place for those people who are drug users. It is important not to stigmatise these people but to give them the appropriate pathways to seek help. The harm related economic impact of the use of alcohol and drugs is significant, in the tens of billions of dollars, and often has wide-reaching impacts throughout the community, from personal health, crime, premature death, road accidents, workplace accidents and productivity to domestic and child abuse, not withstanding the harmful impacts caused internationally by drug manufacturing and trafficking.

To combat this issue, the committee set up an inquiry to determine the effectiveness of different approaches to drug use campaigns to reduce demand for illicit drugs and to harm-minimisation strategies. The inquiry included evaluating stock advertising and the use of campaigns aimed at various audiences. It also looked at research and evaluation methods used to plan, implement and assess the effect of such campaigns. The committee also looked at identifying best-practice approaches to designing and implementing campaigns, including social media, digital channels and traditional advertising, to guide Australia's approach to drug demand reduction. Finally, it inquired into the efficacy of the current and past national drug strategies in achieving demand reduction through public communications campaigns. What was clear from the submissions and from the public hearings is that there are many different facets to drug problems in Australia and this requires a layered approach to minimising the considerable harm that illegal drugs cause to the community. A focus on harm reduction and community based approaches to drug minimisation will be most effective at curtailing substance abuse in Australia.

This report hands down four recommendations, which I urge the government to act on. The first recommendation is that the federal government implement a new communications campaign via the National Drug Strategy that will support law enforcement agencies' efforts to reduce current and future illicit drug demand. The National Drug Strategy 2017-2026 is a 10-year framework that aims to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. This is the seventh iteration of this strategy since it was first introduced in 1985. Like previous iterations, this strategy includes targeted communication strategies as a method to achieve its overall aim of reducing drug related harms. However, the last campaign activities associated with this strategy were in 2018. With the dissolution of COAG and its subsidiary arms, the new national cabinet and various committees do not include a specific council that brings together health and policing bodies to discuss illicit drug issues. This has been highlighted as a concern throughout the inquiry, considering that there have been reports of increased problematic drug use during COVID-19. The work of this strategy was found to be effective, but the time is ripe for us to take further action now.

The report also recommends that the government establish a formal mechanism commensurate with the council under COAG that is able to give federal and state law-enforcement bodies a strong, equal voice in developing policies and strategies to reduce illicit drug demand. The report also makes recommendations about future communication campaigns to reduce use illicit drug use and drug related harm. Public communications campaigns have been used in Australia for many years to disseminate information about health and to persuade people to change their behaviour. A prominent example is the Grim Reaper ads which aired over 30 years ago. This utilised shock advertising to gain attention and as a catalyst for encouraging additional thought and comprehension. Some might argue that it still is.

What was found throughout the inquiry was that the best practical approach to public communications campaigns on drug use will recognise people who use drugs as people first, without using images of them or drug use as part of the shock advertising campaigns. A core aim of any public campaign regarding drug use must aim to reduce the stigma around drug use and people who use drugs, encourage harm reduction practices and promote avenues to seek help if desired. What was noted in the hearings and in several submissions is that shock advertising on its own is not effective. There were assertions made that shock advertising has been overused in Australia and potentially has lost its high impact and emotional response. This is not to say that it doesn't work at all, but it has changed.

The personalisation of media means that shock advertising needs to take a collective approach and requires a societal shift that is refocusing the message to be one of social harm versus individual harm. Further, an emotional response does not need to be dictated by shock advertising. There are other means by which we can do that. For example, the social impact of behaviours is something which we can leverage for younger people to pay more attention. I think we can also remember the 'pinkie' road safety campaign. The key is getting people to think about how your friends, family or even a potential love interest would look at you if you were speeding. Trying to evoke a similar emotion can be effective at changing behaviours, especially for younger people. This demographic is important when you consider that 80 per cent of first-time illicit drug users are between the ages of 15 and 21.

Careful attention must also focus on stigmatisation of drug users in marketing campaigns, as this can have the opposite of the desired effect on the individual and actually prevent them seeking help. However, this requires balance, as a negative stigma can also be an important tool in regulating behaviour. That is why it's important to advocate for strong law enforcement strategies to be an integral element of any antidrug campaign. We must also support a comprehensive communication arm, with specific focus on younger people, with a specific safety message. It is important for law enforcement to be closely connected to their community and to have a community focused model. To curtail the problem of increasing illicit drug use in Australia, there must be a holistic approach towards a harm minimisation and reduction strategy. Funding needs to be made on an ongoing basis, with multiple arms. Spending on mass media campaigns on its own is a waste if it's not accompanied by community programs, school programs, treatments and other types of drug and alcohol supports that are focused on reducing harm. There also needs to be ongoing research into the effectiveness of addiction treatment programs in reducing drug related crime.

What we have seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is that public health messaging can be effective, especially from a law enforcement perspective, but it must focus on authenticity. This comes with messaging which also has groups and communities on board. You cannot do this in isolation. It has to be a holistic approach if we're going to reduce the harm and the increase in the use of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco in this country.

Question agreed to.