O'Connor Damien: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill — In Committee 
O'Connor Damien: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:674;Page:20188] 
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour) 
: 
 Once again we find ourselves in the Chamber trying to deal with a very very difficult issue—an issue that most of us probably feel somewhat compromised on. We continually contradict ourselves I suggest when it comes to the issue of drugs—well if we are talking about mind-altering substances I guess. How could any party oppose the Associate Minister of Health’s initiative? It is a very good one; it is a move to try to reduce the harm from a new substance on the market that has been identified. 
Our young people in this country are somewhat confused as well. If we make an assumption that it is mainly young people we are trying to protect from themselves and that they are the main buyers of these new products in particular then we have to ask whether we are giving them consistent messages through Parliament. We have numerous laws that state that young people cannot do this or should not do that but then we tell them to be innovative and creative and to get on with their lives. No matter what we do in this Committee in terms of banning substances tomorrow people will be working on and creating new substances because they are innovative and smart and they want something new. 
It is important that whatever legislation we pass here is flexible enough and I think the Associate Minister’s attempt here is reasonable. At the Minister of Health’s discretion he can intervene and declare a new substance as something that can be investigated and a temporary ban can be put on it. I think it is a good attempt but if we are going to be consistent then the only way that we will beat this over time is through decent education so that people be they young or old know what they are consuming by smoking sucking drinking or whatever. They need to know what the substance is and there needs to be some resilience so that around them there is positive peer pressure to resist the consumer campaigns or whatever that will develop around new products that will come on to the market month upon month following the passage of this legislation. 
I have heard that the Government is currently waiting to consider the Law Commission’s report and that there are a number of recommendations in the report—a reasonable number 45 or something— 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Just on this area. 
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR 
: Yes that is right. I thank the Associate Minister. There is another Law Commission report hanging around as well—one on alcohol. If the Associate Minister and the Government were to be consistent here and if we were to have a look at the harm caused by the substances we are trying to address in this particular legislation compared with the harm we know occurs every single weekend of every single year which has been clearly documented identified and connected to alcohol then the Opposition members would welcome a return to the House of a bill on alcohol. The Government refuses to do that. Although I appreciate the Associate Minister’s efforts and the Government’s efforts to move very quickly in this area of drugs which everyone will applaud the reality is that the Government is refusing to move on an issue that is of far greater harm every single day and every weekend in every week of this year. The Associate Minister knows that. 
The question is what the young people and the people out there are going to think. Are we a bunch of hypocrites? Should we be consistent? Should we send a consistent message to people that we will put in place laws that accurately identify those who produce a substance force them to identify what is in the substance and then let people make the call on whether they consume it? 
I am not an advocate of decriminalisation and of saying that just because people are over 18 they should be able to consume what they like. This Parliament has to make the tough calls and provide guidance in order to reduce self-harm and harm to others. Do not for a moment think we are addressing just the issue of self-harm here. Every area of drug consumption and abuse has flow-on effects that are serious and that run right through families and communities. We have an obligation in this Committee when we are addressing legislation like this—and Labour supports it because it is an attempt to address the issue—but we should not for a moment think that this eases our conscience in any way about the real issues of drug utilisation and abuse in this country. 
The same officials who have given advice on this legislation are probably giving advice on the Law Commission’s report on alcohol. We should ask them to move along quickly. I ask the Associate Minister and the Government to move along quickly and to show us what they are going to do about the acute harm caused by alcohol. 
It is difficult for the Opposition members to applaud too loudly on the moves in this legislation given the reality that we will probably have to come back to the House to address other innovations by manufacturers in the area of drugs and to try to keep ahead of them. We will be back in the House in the near future addressing we hope the serious issues. 
We can identify the deaths child abuse road accidents and other harms directly connected to alcohol. I am no wowser but if I am going to get up to speak on this legislation then I have to acknowledge that a far greater harm is currently being ignored by the Government. We would like to see some progress on that. 
Although we are working through this legislation in a sensible way—we are not banning these substances; we know that will drive them underground—we want to check and control the manufacture of all of these things. Let us honestly admit that there will be new innovations and new products. We need to think ahead and through either education or knowledge give to the young people the older people and all those people who consume these substances the tools to know what they might be doing to themselves. Only then will we start to get ahead of the serious issue of drug abuse across this country and the consequences of that. 
People have made a song and dance about child abuse which is one of the most horrific things occurring in this country. Many of those issues about child abuse unfortunately relate back to drug abuse. We have to acknowledge that and we have to get on and do something about it. 
In supporting this legislation I cannot clap too loudly because there is still a bigger issue that the Government refuses to bring back to the House which is alcohol and the Law Commission’s recommendations on that.