Senator Kate Lundy
Address to Potatala ‘a e Kolomu’a Network (PKN)

Public Forum
on Illicit drugs and youth for pacific island families in the ACT.

24 November 2002

I would like to thank the Potatala ‘a e Kolomu’a Network (PKN) for inviting me to be a part of this important forum. I would like to begin by congratulating PKN on an excellent and worthy initiative.  I understand the PKN is a worldwide Taskforce that is about caring for the lives, health, culture, community, dignity and hopes of Tongan Youth.

I have been asked to share with you the Labor Party’s perspective on the challenging and difficult issue of illicit drugs in our community.

Let me begin by saying that drugs continue to be an important issue in our community. It is every parent’s nightmare that their children might get involved with drugs.

Through our work representing Australians and our national policy review, Labor listens first-hand to the stories of what drugs are doing to individuals, families and communities.  My colleague, the Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs, Daryl Melham, recently met with a local Canberra group, Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, to talk about the issue.

We are proud of our approach to tackling drugs in the community. Labor Governments boast a solid track record in coming up with innovative and realistic policies for dealing with drugs.

At the core of Labor’s policies is the guiding principle of harm minimization. That principle says:

That’s why Labor’s approach to drugs includes promoting harm reduction through programs that tackle the health and social problems caused by drug use.

We all know that prevention is better than cure. Educating young people about the dangers of drug use and involving communities and families in drugs programs is also important. It’s about reducing the demand for drugs.

Just last week, my Assembly colleague and ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope made a statement about the 2000-2001 Alcohol /Drug National Minimum Dataset.  This dataset gives a revealing insight into clients who access drug and alcohol services around the nation.

Nationally, alcohol was the most common principle drug of concern (34%), with heroin the next most common (28%), followed by Cannabis (14%) and amphetamines (9%).

While reporting in relation to other drugs was close to or below the national average, the ACT had 43.5 per cent of clients who reported heroin as their principle drug of concern – a significant increase on the national rate of 28%.

Jon Stanhope said we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this problem.  In the ACT Labor has established an Alcohol and Other Drug Taskforce to develop a new strategy for dealing with alcohol and other drug problems.

ACT Labor has also re-activated the Supervised Injecting Room Committee to examine the trial in Sydney and advise on establishing a facility in the ACT.

The Chief Minister has also said the Government would examine the reasons behind the difference in the number of ACT clients reporting heroin as the principle drug of concern and the national rate.  This anomaly is a matter for concern however the reason for more people seeking treatment for heroin related problems is not yet clear.  It is possible this figure reflects a higher awareness of services available and a greater willingness to access services in the ACT.

The ACT has a range of high quality drug and alcohol services including:

·        pharmacotherapy treatment (both methadone and buprenorphine);

·        withdrawal services and residential rehabilitation;

·        counselling and training services;

·        needle and syringe programs and a GP based service for opiate dependent people;

·        specialist cannabis services;

·        and a wide range of diversionary services.

The national report also revealed that over 99 per cent of ACT people seeking help did so for their own drug use, rather than because of concern about another person’s drug use, and that approximately twice as many males as females accessed services in the Territory.

Labor is committed to ensuring purposeful law enforcement strategies, such as specialist drug courts and diversionary programs. These enlightened programs introduce rehabilitation and treatment into the justice system, and already we have seen signs of success from the Drug Court in NSW.

Right across the country, Labor governments are setting up drug courts because they see the value in getting drug users out of the jails and out of the criminal justice system, and instead getting them into treatment, rehabilitation and support programs.

Another aim of Labor’s approach to drugs is to cut the profits that drug dealers make. We can do this through law enforcement, by giving our police and customs services the resources to detect drugs on the streets and as they come in through our ports.

Earlier this year Parliament passed a new law that allows the proceeds of crime to be confiscated without having to first secure a conviction. That law is based on a Bill drawn up several years ago by Labor to target the ‘Mr Bigs’ of the criminal world who distance themselves from the frontline of crime but who pocket the profits.

Labor’s Coastguard policy is another such example. Hard drugs - heroin and cocaine - are fully imported items.  Every gram of heroin on our streets has come across our borders. The only way to keep heroin off our streets is to keep it out of the country in the first place. That is why Labor is committed to developing a proper Coastguard. 

This is another good example of how Labor comes at the problem from lots of different angles. We’re not just tough on crime and tough on drugs – we’re also smart on crime and smart on drugs.

I believe the Tongan community is also being really smart because you have taken the initiative with your program.  Labor understands that will only be able to achieve our policy objectives if we work with communities such as this.  It is through these partnerships that we can help young people and their families in difficult times.

I congratulate you again and look forward to following the progress of this initiative, engaging in ongoing dialogue about the problems we face and working together to find solutions