Hutchison Paul: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee Third Reading 
Hutchison Paul: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:626;Page:21495] 
Dr PAUL HUTCHISON (National—Port Waikato) 
: 
 Part 2 again is one of the very important parts of this bill because it allows our customs agents and other law-enforcement agents to react to the very very extraordinary and special techniques that are being used more and more by some of the criminal gangs that are attempting to smuggle illicit drugs into New Zealand. The methods they are using are becoming more and more sophisticated and therefore it is hugely important to have a mechanism to meet the sorts of things they are doing to feed the drug trade in New Zealand and to control the growing problem that we see here. 
I do absolutely agree with my colleague Dr Lynda Scott who mentioned just how drastic is the seriousness of the risks associated with some of these controlled drugs such as methamphetamine and their precursors. There is no doubt that not only can they be addictive but that the bizarre psychotic reactions associated with their ingestion have led to some of the most horrific crimes that we have seen in New Zealand’s history. Therefore it is important that special legislative circumstances are taken to give the enforcement agents the required teeth necessary to make some difference. 
I think it is important to reiterate once again that that is why the Hon Wyatt Creech brought in the expeditious scheduling of controlled drugs and their precursors. This is a very real and serious problem and it is hugely important to use exceptional techniques for this problem in those unique situations. It is very important to realise that the expeditious scheduling and the affirmative resolution process should be used only for specifically unique circumstances. 
This part of the bill deals with allowing delivery of unlawfully imported drugs for purposes of detection seizure of items found during search warrants and international controlled delivery and liability for offences. I think it is worth pointing out that new section 12D(3) inserted by clause 26 again provides for some exceptional circumstances. It states that a: “… Customs officer or officer of a relevant law enforcement agency … who is involved in an international controlled delivery—(a) does not commit an offence under section 6(1)(a) 12AB or 12AC of the principal Act by reason of taking part in that international controlled delivery; and (b) unless he or she is acting in bad faith is not subject to any criminal or civil liability as a result of taking part in that international controlled delivery.” 
One might say that some of the aspects of this part of the bill including those involved with international controlled deliveries and rub-down searches and strip-searches that are required to occur perhaps are exceptional things that normally we would not want to have other than under extreme circumstances. Well the circumstances are extreme. That is why they are included in the bill. That is why the National Party has no hesitation in supporting this part of the bill. But even then once again it is important to realise that some of the drug importers or smugglers into this country are using methods whereby people ingest packages and try to take them through the border. It is very important to be able to have the powers to confine those people in hotels sometimes for up to 2 or 3 weeks to wait for that package of a controlled substance to finally emerge so that an arrest can take place for that individual.