Robson Matt: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Robson Matt: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:614;Page:10492] 
4.  
Hon MATT ROBSON (Deputy Leader—Progressive) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Health 
: What are the latest measures being taken by the Labour-Progressive coalition Government to combat the supply and use of methamphetamine? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Associate Minister of Health) 
: 
 After receiving recommendations from the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs Cabinet yesterday agreed that both pseudoephedrine and ephedrine which are ingredients used in the manufacture of methamphetamine be classed as controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act. The committee also agreed that the import and supply of P pipes be prohibited in this country. 
Hon Matt Robson 
: What do these measures mean? 
Opposition Members 
: Ha ha! 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: There would be some embarrassed faces if some of those members who are laughing were asked to answer that question. The classification of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine will give the Customs Service wider powers to investigate importation syndicates including the ability to track suspect deliveries. The classification will also allow for penalties of up to 8 years’ imprisonment for those caught importing these precursor drugs without a licence. The prohibition on P pipes is designed to ensure that vulnerable young people do not get any mixed messages. We do not think it is OK for young people to smoke P and therefore those caught importing and supplying P pipes will face up to 3 months’ imprisonment a $1000 fine or both. The message the coalition Government wants young people to hear is not to use drugs including P because it is dangerous for them for their family and for the community. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Will pseudoephedrine-based products still be able to be purchased from pharmacies throughout New Zealand? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Yes. 
Martin Gallagher 
: What steps are being taken by the Labour-Progressive coalition Government to ensure additional treatment for those young people using P and other very dangerous drugs and also help for the communities where this drug is currently rife? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: As a result of a Budget bid by the Progressive party there are 15 communities in New Zealand that will be progressing an anti-drugs strategy commencing in March next year. In addition the Christchurch community on behalf of the whole of the South Island is building as I speak a treatment centre for drug and alcohol – addicted young people to supplement the work of the youth drug court in Christchurch. This Government has an anti - drugs and alcohol abuse programme which it is implementing with great vigour. I must say that is in stark contrast with those provided under the previous National Government. 
Ron Mark 
: How can the Minister’s commitment to fighting this epidemic be taken seriously when under his Government we have seen a person convicted of taking and supplying methamphetamine put on home detention because he is less likely to be exposed to P than in the Government’s own prisons; when we have killers dying of a P overdose while on home detention; and when the Restaurant Association of New Zealand is crying out for assistance to help workers who are addicted to P and suggesting that one in five workers in the industry is taking illicit drugs; yet when it calls for legislative assistance to drug test those people the Government sits on its hands and does nothing? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: This Government reclassified methamphetamine as a class A drug which carries with it a life imprisonment sentence—something that former Governments never took action on. If the member is suggesting that politicians are going to declare what sentences will be handed down by the courts of New Zealand I tell him there will be a rule of law while this Government is in Parliament whereby judges and police implement the law and politicians make it. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Given that testing is needed to secure convictions of methamphetamine manufacturers what action is the Government going to take now that the Institute of Environmental Science and Research has announced that it is expecting to test 300 clandestine methamphetamine laboratories next year—double the number found this year—which suggests a 2-year waiting list to have these tests undertaken? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I am advised that the police have provided more funding to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research to further improve its analytical capability to improve turn-round times in dealing with clandestine laboratories. The institute is currently recruiting scientists and technicians for methamphetamine work as well as streamlining its processing to ensure better turn-round. It is interesting that those members who demand more from Government agencies are the very same parties that want tax reductions for the richest people in New Zealand at the same time. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: I seek leave to table a document that shows that the Institute of Environmental Science and Research intends to tackle a doubling in the number of methamphetamine laboratories by employing two extra staff. 
Document not tabled.