Select Committee into Alternate Approaches to Reducing Illicit Drug Use and its Effects on the Community — Final Report — “Help, Not Handcuffs: Evidence-Based Approaches to Reducing Harm from Illicit Drug Use” — Motion
Resumed from 11 March on the following motion moved by Hon Alison Xamon —
That the report be noted.
Hon ALISON XAMON: I rise to continue my remarks from the last time we considered this report. If any members of this committee wish to speak today, they should indicate that to me and I will sit down so they can have their say, because I can talk about this matter underwater for years, if need be, as the subject matter is very important, and particularly important to me. I had started to talk about some of the thinking behind where the committee had gone with this report, having been carefully guided by the very thoughtful contributions of many members in this chamber when the unanimous decision was made to establish this parliamentary inquiry. It was very clear from all the contributions, without exception, when we had that four-hour debate that people are very concerned about what is happening with illicit drugs within our community and the harm arising from that, that people want these matters to be investigated, and that it was particularly important that we have a cross-party approach to investigating that. I think that is part of the power of the recommendations that have subsequently arisen from this report. We have a consensus report; there are no minority provisions. It is not a Greens report. If it was a report that was solely mine, to be perfectly honest, I probably would have gone a bit further with a range of things. It was really important and very powerful that people genuinely engaged with the evidence that was presented to them. I make it clear that all five members of the committee approached this with the utmost level of integrity, thoughtfulness and intelligence, because it was clear that we wanted to come up with a range of strategies that would hopefully help to address the problems around illicit drug use. As I said, we received evidence on concerns around the illicit use of licit drugs and the harm that arises from that. Finding 1 indicates that a lot of evidence that was presented made it quite clear that the drug that unfortunately causes the most amount of harm in Australia is alcohol. However, our job was not to look at those drugs—of course, alcohol is a drug—that are currently legal, but to specifically look at whether there was a better way that we could approach drugs that are illegal.
The CHAIR: The question is that the report be noted. There being no other members seeking the call, I again give the call to Hon Alison Xamon.
Hon ALISON XAMON: It was noted that the very nature of being an illegal substance does, of course, attract a whole range of other complications around people seeking treatment—people ending up with criminal records, for example—and people having a genuine stigma around being able to access particular services when they need to address their drug use. That is why there was a particular focus on that. I make the observation that some stakeholders felt that by focusing on illicit drug use, we were somehow attempting to perpetuate the stigma around it, which was a little ironic because we were actually trying to address the fact that certain drugs are currently illegal and to look at the complications that arise as a result of that.
Because I am aware that my time is limited today, I want to comment on the government’s response to this. It is a very interesting response. As per the normal government response, I was expecting that after this report was tabled in December, come January or February, we would have a government response on how it intended to address the various recommendations. Instead, on 11 February, we had a comment by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Mental Health basically indicating that the official government response to this report would not be forthcoming immediately because a decision had been made to provide a whole-of-government response to the recommendations. One of the things highlighted in that response that I think is worth highlighting again is the following comment —
The inquiry was specifically about illicit drugs, although the select committee heard about the high levels of harm associated with alcohol and prescription drugs. Importantly, the inquiry was concerned with drug users, not people involved in the drug trade. The committee inquired into approaches to address the use and possession of drugs for personal use, not possession with intent to sell or supply or the distribution of drugs.
I draw members’ attention to that specifically, because that is also addressed within a number of the recommendations in the report. That is something I want to be very clear about.
From the outset, the committee was not interested in trying to look at whether reform of the overall drug trade as such was required. When I say “not interested”, it was a very clear consensus decision that that was not the priority of what we were trying to address. We wanted to address the issue of harm for users, their families and the community—so, for people who are caught up in the cycle of drug addiction. The report does not contain any recommendations to amend the penalty associated with those who are still involved with mass scale cultivation, production, dealing and trafficking. We often talk about people who are involved in serious organised crime and have made the conscious decision to peddle in misery and death. The committee did not look at that. We looked at the people who are caught up in that cycle.
To get back to the response from government, on the one hand, I am very heartened that the government has chosen to take the committee’s report, which is a comprehensive, evidence-based and very important report, and commit to an all-of-government response. That is the appropriate way in which to deal with such a multifaceted issue. However, we have no date or time indication for when the final report will be presented. The parliamentary secretary simply stated —
Subject to cabinet’s endorsement, the response to the final report will be tabled as soon as possible.
On the one hand, I am pleased that we are looking at an all-of-government response, which will go as far as cabinet, to the recommendations in the report. That indicates a level of seriousness that I think is worthy of the importance of this report. On the other hand, I express my concern about the lack of clarity about when the response will be provided. That also means that this chamber will not get the chance to debate what we think about the government’s response to some of these recommendations. Therefore, I most certainly hope it happens sooner rather than later. The cynic in me wonders whether some of the recommendations that arise out of this report may form the basis of future election commitments—maybe, or maybe not. I just want reform in this space. I will wait and see what happens. I certainly hope that we will see a report sooner rather than later.
I also note that the government’s statement said that the Mental Health Commission, in collaboration with the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, should lead the process for a government response. I say from the outset that I think that is appropriate. I believe that the Mental Health Commission, which of course incorporates the Drug and Alcohol Office, is the right entity to take the leadership in this space. That is particularly because it is responsible for not only the procurement of services, but also for coordinating the overall government policy response to the issues around alcohol and other drugs. As has been indicated in a range of other recommendations in this report, which I will go to at length, it needs the support of a range of other government departments, most notably the Department of Communities, and also the Attorney General, and most certainly the WA Police Force. WA police must be involved in looking at a holistic response to how the government will address this issue. As I have said, I certainly hope that we see the government response sooner rather than later.
I will now go through the various recommendations in the report. One of the findings is that prescription drugs are causing a great amount of harm. The misuse of prescription drugs, more specifically, is resulting in a huge number of deaths in Western Australia. Recommendation 1 of the committee is that a governmental or parliamentary inquiry be established to examine and report on the harms associated with prescription drug misuse in Western Australia. Clearly, we did not put a time frame around that. We are coming towards the end of the fortieth Parliament, but I hope that issue will be picked up by future Parliaments. It is well worth us looking at what is happening in Western Australia. Members would be quite horrified if they saw the figures for deaths from overdoses from legal drugs. That number is growing. That is also a concern in some of the regions. That would be well worth examining.
The committee found that the use of drugs, whether it be legal or illegal, is a phenomenon that occurs worldwide. It is not unique to Australia. It has occurred throughout history. Drugs are used for a number of reasons. Sometimes it is for cultural reasons, and sometimes it is just for fun. Of grave concern to the committee was the number of people who turn to drugs because they are dealing with underlying mental health issues or issues of trauma. When it comes to the latter, there are a lot of things that we can and should do in our mental health responses that can minimise the need for people to use drugs to self-medicate in that way. We also need to recognise that although people might choose to take recreational drugs for fun, and although it might seem fun to start with, it can lead to addiction, and even the fun itself might be short-lived, because they might die. By that, I am specifically talking about the suite of drugs that are commonly known as party drugs. That includes MDMA, or ecstasy, as it is referred to, and acid in particular. People are not automatically safe simply because they use drugs recreationally. Therefore, an alternative approach to how we address that sort of usage is also absolutely warranted.
Consideration of report adjourned, pursuant to standing orders.
Progress reported and leave granted to sit again, pursuant to standing orders.