Mr BALCH - 1999-02-24
Will the Chief Minister be attending the drug summit convened by the Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett?
ANSWER
Mr, Speaker, the answer is ‘no’, and I will be explaining that to the Premier of Victoria. The reason is simply that we are involved in budget deliberations during that period and it is not possible for me to attend. I will give the government’s position at this time. I also would be interested in the opposition’s opinion on free heroin trials, because I know the former Deputy Leader of the Opposition was a strong supporter of free heroin trials. I don’t know how his position translates into the opposition’s policy. Certainly, in the Northern Territory, we support any jurisdiction dealing with its own problems in its own way. The problems with drug use, both legal and illegal, take many forms and the solutions themselves take many forms.
In Victoria they have had something like 60 heroin deaths. Those deaths are quite alarming. In the Northern Territory when we look at drug use, both legal and illegal, the number one problem in the Northern Territory is alcohol. No other drug use gets anywhere near that in terms of overall harm to the community.
The incidence of heroin use in the Northern Territory is very small. It is generally traffic by drug users themselves, with a little extra for others. Certainly, the incidence of amphetamine use, particularly amongst young people, is rising and is alarming, in my opinion, and needs to be dealt with, certainly with the strategies that we currently have in place and others, as they come to light.
We deal with alcohol abuse with some of the best programs recognised nationally and internationally, and that will continue to be our focus.
With regards to free heroin, I take the view that we do not deal with alcoholics by giving out free alcohol, and a large number of heroin deaths does not, in my mind, translate to a solution of a free heroin trial. One needs only to reflect on the large number of methadone deaths through overdose - and we have had methadone freely available in many jurisdictions for many years.
The solutions are extremely complex. I wish the premiers well in their deliberations, and I look forward to seeing the outcome.
ANSWER
Mr, Speaker, the answer is ‘no’, and I will be explaining that to the Premier of Victoria. The reason is simply that we are involved in budget deliberations during that period and it is not possible for me to attend. I will give the government’s position at this time. I also would be interested in the opposition’s opinion on free heroin trials, because I know the former Deputy Leader of the Opposition was a strong supporter of free heroin trials. I don’t know how his position translates into the opposition’s policy. Certainly, in the Northern Territory, we support any jurisdiction dealing with its own problems in its own way. The problems with drug use, both legal and illegal, take many forms and the solutions themselves take many forms.
In Victoria they have had something like 60 heroin deaths. Those deaths are quite alarming. In the Northern Territory when we look at drug use, both legal and illegal, the number one problem in the Northern Territory is alcohol. No other drug use gets anywhere near that in terms of overall harm to the community.
The incidence of heroin use in the Northern Territory is very small. It is generally traffic by drug users themselves, with a little extra for others. Certainly, the incidence of amphetamine use, particularly amongst young people, is rising and is alarming, in my opinion, and needs to be dealt with, certainly with the strategies that we currently have in place and others, as they come to light.
We deal with alcohol abuse with some of the best programs recognised nationally and internationally, and that will continue to be our focus.
With regards to free heroin, I take the view that we do not deal with alcoholics by giving out free alcohol, and a large number of heroin deaths does not, in my mind, translate to a solution of a free heroin trial. One needs only to reflect on the large number of methadone deaths through overdose - and we have had methadone freely available in many jurisdictions for many years.
The solutions are extremely complex. I wish the premiers well in their deliberations, and I look forward to seeing the outcome.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016