Kuriger Barbara: Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKuriger Barbara: Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 15 March 2016. Volume:712;Page:9709. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]BARBARA KURIGER (National—Taranaki - King Country): It is a pleasure to speak on the Substance Addiction (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Bill this evening. In doing so I want to mention that we all know that this is replacing a bill that was written in 1966.I would like to make note of the people led by Maurie Zinsli who have recently taken the time to commemorate those who died at Tokanui Hospital. It is a really sad case of people who were in a psychiatric hospital which is 14 kilometres south of Te Awamutu. A lot of those people in those days when we did not understand as much as we do now about mental health issues substance abuse and the like were taken into that hospital. Many of them were buried there.There is a lovely plaque that has just gone up. It has got “Tokanui Hospital Cemetery 1914 - 1964” which is only a couple of years before the piece of legislation that we are replacing was passed. It says: “May the 500 plus people buried here Rest in Peace.” I think it is significant that we remember them because we have learnt a lot. We have made a lot of medical physical progress over the years but in mental health and substance health and those sorts of things it has taken us a very long time.I would like to comment on something that one of the speakers said before. They talked about the difference between rich and poor people but actually this is a disease that does not distinguish. The bill is not designed to say that it happens only in certain economic classes or socio-economic situations; it is something that can happen to anybody. Often it is stress that leads to mental health issues that then leads to substance abuse—whether it be abuse of alcohol whether it be abuse of drugs—and so I think it is really really important that we do look as the previous speaker Poto Williams said at the links between those things because it fits in quite nicely with a lot of the other stuff that we are doing on the Health Committee.The bill is based on extensive work that was undertaken by the Law Commission in 2010. It is a significant step towards managing people who are seriously ill as a result of their addiction to alcohol or other drugs. The bill in its first reading sets out the criteria for compulsory treatment. “Compulsory treatment may only be given to people who have a severe substance addiction and whose capacity for making informed decisions about treatment for that addiction is severely impaired.” It is really something that is not going to be taken lightly and I am sure that in our debate in our select committee we will ensure that that remains the case.The bill sets out the meaning of severe substance addiction and it also sets out that the definition is applicable only if two of four highlighted conditions are part of the process. Before the select committee’s chair talked about neuro-adaptation to the substance. It could be because of “craving for the substance unsuccessful efforts to control the use of the substance and use of the substance despite harmful consequences.” I know that in a lot of these situations although these people would dearly love to break the cycle themselves unfortunately the addiction and the disease are such that they are unable to do so.The bill states that “compulsory treatment is necessary only if voluntary treatment is unlikely to be effective.” Generally we are looking at an 8-week period. If those who have this severe addiction are under 18 years of age participation by the family in decision making is really important. It also states that the “Area Director must assign a responsible clinician to every patient for whom a compulsory treatment certificate has been signed and this must be done as soon as practicable after the Area Director is notified of the patient’s identity.” So we cannot let these things lag. The bill also says that “a compulsory treatment order for children and young persons who are under 17 years of age may be made only if the court is satisfied that appropriate treatment cannot be given pursuant to an order [or other determination] under the Children Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989.”I am looking forward to this piece of legislation coming to the Health Committee. There has been an increasing shift towards more mental health and addiction services being provided in our communities and this aligns with the updated New Zealand Health Strategy draft which emphasises the importance of care closer to home. Thank you and I look forward to this bill coming to our committee.