Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Well thank you Mr Speaker for the opportunity to take a call on the Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill. I just want to thank the member opposite for a wonderful history lesson. But actually what we're here to talk about is this bill which was dumped on us this morning and is being rushed through this Parliament as this Government's number one priority after the election—the number one priority after the election is to help normalise drugs here in New Zealand.This piece of legislation will not achieve a reduction in harm from drugs in New Zealand. So this bill will not because this bill and the evidence which is clear—the evidence is clear—is that the drugs which young people are taking do cause harm. A University of New South Wales study of 392 ecstasy deaths between 2001 and 2016 found no deaths from impurities or contaminants in drugs—and that is a study from the University of New South Wales. The reality is that it is an illegal substance a class A substance and it is a drug which kills people. It doesn't matter how many times you test MDMA it's still MDMA—it doesn't matter how many times you test it it's still a drug which will kill people. I'm not sure what Chlöe Swarbrick doesn't understand about that. MDMA is a dangerous drug. By telling our young people that they have their MDMA tested and that Yes that is MDMA." give them a green light and a little sticker to go away and take their MDMA does not make it safer—does not make it any safer.This piece of legislation will not reduce the harm caused by drugs in our community. The public have just rejected the notion of more drugs in New Zealand with a referendum on marijuana which did not pass which failed with the public rejecting the idea of more drugs and more normalisation of drugs in New Zealand. The first piece of legislation this Government has brought to this Parliament is something which will simply normalise drugs by sending the wrong message to our young people. Researchers at the forensic international science journal fear that testing will place a false sense of security into the users' mind. It is a dangerously misleading claim to say that testing will increase the safety of drug taking. We are playing with young people's lives when we are saying that this is going to make their drugs safer. The drugs are dangerous. The drugs kill them. The drugs will not be made safer simply by testing them. I think that the members opposite who have come to this House with great aspirations—and I've enjoyed listening to some of the maiden speeches about how they seek to have this new kind of leadership this consultation this ability to bring the community along and you know this new type of leadership that they're promising and this piece of legislation won't even go to a select committee.If there's evidence that the Green Party want to bring if there's evidence that the community want to bring bring it to a select committee. Let the public have their say. Let the evidence be tested. But the very first piece of legislation which has been brought the public are not even being able to have their say on and the public are not being able to actually test the evidence in here. There are well-documented limitations with the accuracy with some of the testing site devices. A collaborative testing approach between on-site testing devices and laboratory-based scientists is recommended in order to improve their results. There is evidence which needs to be brought to the select committee to actually prove this stuff works. We don't have that evidence here. We don't have this in the bill. We don't have any of that in the explanatory statement. None—Hon Simon Bridges: The Minister didn't give us any.SIMEON BROWN: —of that evidence—the Minister didn't give us; all we heard was hopes and dreams. Well hope—Hon Simon Bridges: Chlöe Swarbrick didn't give us any.SIMEON BROWN: Chlöe Swarbrick didn't give us any evidence; we just heard the hopes and dreams.Chlöe Swarbrick: New South Wales chief coronial report six years' worth of—SIMEON BROWN: Well bring it to a select committee—bring it to a select committee.Chlöe Swarbrick: I'll email it to you.SIMEON BROWN: We don't have the select committee process for this evidence to be tested and for the evidence to actually be weighed up to see whether it will actually make a real difference.Chlöe Swarbrick: We're working with him patron saint of the National Party. SIMEON BROWN: Mr Speaker I do wonder when the Green Party member continues to interject as to whether their actual agenda is to simply legalise all drugs. I think the Green Party should actually clarify what their actual agenda here is. Is their agenda simply to normalise and legitimise all drugs? Because this is another step in that journey to simply say that drug use is OK and drug use should be legitimatised and normalised. On this side of the House we don't think so. We want to ensure that our young people are sent the very clear message that if you take these drugs they are dangerous and they are recognised under our legislation for the danger that they do have and we will not be supporting legislation which continues to normalise drugs in New Zealand. Thank you very much."