Stewart Barbara: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — Referral of S.O.P. 298 to Health Committee 
Stewart Barbara: Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) — Referral of S.O.P. 298 to Health Committee 
[Volume:621;Page:16820] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I rise to speak in support of Mr Anderton’s Supplementary Order Paper being referred to the Health Committee for consideration along with the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3). We are very aware that the Supplementary Order Paper falls outside the scope of this bill but it perhaps should have been part of the original bill. New Zealand First actually prefers that the Health Committee consider the Supplementary Order Paper at this time and hear public submissions rather than as can happen tabling the Supplementary Order Paper during the Committee stage which means that there is no public consultation and we do want some public consultation on this particular Supplementary Order Paper. 
We are very aware too that solvent abuse is a very serious issue in our community that does need to be addressed. There does need to be some regulation for some of the legal substances that are currently being abused by our young people. We believe too that restrictions need to be placed on matters like the age of purchasers the retailing the supply the marketing and the labelling of those drugs. 
 The advertisements we have seen in books and that I have been sent portray a very sophisticated look for some of the party drugs available from legal outlets. New Zealand First has stated many times that the Government needs to take urgent action to tackle substance abuse and solvent abuse and any action that we can take as politicians to assist in this area needs to be taken in a timely manner. No one wants to see our young people destroying themselves using drugs and abusing solvents. We are only too aware that this whole area of substance abuse including solvent abuse is thriving and many people including criminals are profiting from the misery of others. Unfortunately these are always young people. It is a recipe for disaster because we are very aware that many young lives are ruined as a result of substance abuse. 
It is a shame that the effect of these drugs on our young people has never been clearer but too often we as politicians seem to have given up the fight and want to leave it to others. Perhaps this Supplementary Order Paper will assist in this fight. I remember last year that the police commissioner called for more police resources to get tough on criminals who manufacture and sell methamphetamine. The police daily see the results of young New Zealanders involved in youth crime and the drug scene. 
We believe that substance and solvent abuse is a part of the very high statistics that we see in New Zealand and we do need some very concrete strategies to deal with this problem. I know that my colleague Craig McNair has a very great passion about this particular area and has stated that many many times. It is indeed really sad to see children and young people inhaling a whole variety of substances from plastic bags and containers as they sit around the cities and the towns of New Zealand. It is not something we want to see for our youth. 
We always read about the deaths that are occurring due to the inhalation of these volatile substances that are legally on sale and that makes it a very big problem for our police. Strategies and programmes need to be put in place urgently to deal with this problem and hopefully this Supplementary Order Paper will assist. New Zealand First believes that this Supplementary Order Paper is an opportunity to ensure that strategies to deal with the misuse of substances which are associated with the many many examples of solvent and drug abuse are in place sooner rather than later. How many more lives must be lost before politicians admit that the system we have currently in place is failing the youth of our country? 
The community treatment facilities right throughout New Zealand are stretched to the limit and the sooner we can pass additional legislation to meet the needs of the environment of today the better. New Zealand First supports this Supplementary Order Paper being included as part of the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill (No 3) and we will look forward to working through it.