Robson Matt: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Robson Matt: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:612;Page:8872] 
3.  
Hon MATT ROBSON (Deputy Leader—Progressive) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Health 
: What action has the coalition Government’s Ministerial Committee on Drug Policy taken to date to combat the methamphetamine drug problem in this country? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Associate Minister of Health) 
: 
 Since becoming chair of the ministerial committee I have overseen the implementation of the methamphetamine action plan which has been allocated $8.6 million in this year’s Budget for police and customs initiatives as well as $2.55 million for the development of community action programmes; the reclassification of methamphetamine to a class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act so that anyone convicted of importing manufacturing or supplying the drug now faces up to life imprisonment; and work to put in place successful protocols by the police and pharmacies to limit the domestic supply of precursor chemicals such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. 
Hon Matt Robson 
: What are the next steps the coalition Government proposes to take in its fight against this dangerous drug? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Cabinet has agreed to lower the presumption of supply in relation to methamphetamine from the current 56 grams to 5 grams. This measure will give police the ability to prosecute more suppliers of that dangerous drug. It will help police and customs in their fight against methamphetamine and it is expected to begin its process through Cabinet by the end of this month. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine and the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs has recommended that it be classified as a class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. I have accepted that recommendation and the Ministry of Health is in the process of consulting the industry on that measure. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: In light of the fact that families cannot get their P-addicted children into drug rehabilitation facilities which are bursting at the seams or into acute mental health beds because there simply are not enough of them when will the Government put its money where its mouth is and start saving these young people’s lives? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The inadequacy of facilities to cope with mental health and drug problems is not a new issue and I can say that over the last 3 years this Government has had an average of six Ministers attending each meeting of the ministerial group. The last time the National Party had such a meeting one Minister turned up so members opposite should not accuse this Government of inaction when the last Government led by the National Party did nothing whatever about this issue. 
Craig McNair 
: Can the Minister confirm that police previously dedicated to seeking out methamphetamine laboratories where the drugs are made have been pulled back from those duties to assist with the outbreak of homicides that have occurred in various parts of the country over recent weeks; if so what is the likely impact of that action on methamphetamine supply and availability on the streets? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I cannot comment on the operational arrangements the police make on a daily basis but I can say that this Government has taken measures to strengthen police action against methamphetamine use and those actions are being implemented by the police. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: What action is the Government taking to separate the market for hard drugs from the market for cannabis; a policy that according to the Health Committee was a stated aim of the Dutch Government and has resulted in Holland having one of the lowest rates of hard-drug addiction in the Western World and no methamphetamine problem? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Contrary to what the member believes at the recent Vienna conference on drugs the Minister of Health from the Netherlands advised me that although his country had had a relatively benign attitude to cannabis it was now facing an explosion in the production of hard drugs and the Netherlands now had a very bad reputation around the world for exporting hard drugs. I would recommend that the Green Party review its whole policy of being soft on any drugs whatsoever because it does not work. 
Judy Turner 
: Does the Minister intend to continue allowing not-for-profit community organisations such as the Foundation for Alcohol and Drug Education to bear the financial burden of immediate community education on methamphetamines while we wait for the implementation of the community action programmes early next year; if not why not? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: There are dozens if not hundreds of organisations that do very effective and valuable community work in drugs rehabilitation and so on. The Government cannot fund all of them of course. At the present time it is engaging in a programme to develop a residential treatment unit for young people associated with the drug court in Christchurch. It is funding a number of organisations assisting with drug problems but every organisation in New Zealand that does good work cannot expect to be funded by the Government. 
Dr Muriel Newman 
: Has the Minister seen the United Nations statement that New Zealand has the third-worst drug problem in the world; and since the problem with methamphetamines has occurred almost entirely while Labour has been in power how does he explain his continual support for this “soft on drugs” Government? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I did not hear the last bit— 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: This “soft on drugs” Government! 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I would recommend that the member who asked that question listens to or gets a transcript from the interview on National Radio where a reputed researcher on drug matters in New Zealand said that that report from the United Nations had no validity whatsoever in any scientific analysis of a country’s reputation in terms of drugs. The second point is that if this Government is “soft on drugs” I suggest that the member ask those people out in the community who now know that anyone dealing in drugs like methamphetamine faces life imprisonment under class C reclassification which the previous National Government supported by ACT never even got around to doing. 
Peter Brown 
: What has Cabinet agreed to with regard to people who drive under the influence of drugs as shown on that television programme on Sunday where some people are apparently killing other people and getting off relatively scot-free? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: It may come as a surprise to the member but this Parliament and the Cabinet of the Government on this side of the House make the laws; the police and the judiciary apply them. That is the way it will stay as long as there is a rule of law in New Zealand. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: I seek leave to table a press release from last year showing that young adults will lose a valuable lifeline when the Hanmer youth clinic is shut down by this Government. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is. 
Hon Jim Anderton 
: I seek leave to table a document that shows that the last time the ministerial group on drugs met under the National Party one Minister attended. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.