Ms MARTIN - 2000-10-18
Minister, are you aware of yet another report from the University of New South Wales called ‘Northern Territory Drug Trends 1999’ funded by the National Drug Strategy? This report focuses on illicit drug use in the NT, and information sourced in the report comes from many of this government’s own government departments. The report states property crime is the most common crime perpetrated by users of amphetamines and cannabis. The report also states that for opiate users property crime is common and includes some armed robberies.
This government has been soft on drugs for years, turning a blind eye and condemning hundreds of Territorians to needlessly having their homes broken into by your failure to tackle the drug crisis. Are you still going to stand here and deny we have a crisis on our hands, and what are you going to do about it?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition thought we had a crisis on our hands now, I just ask her to reflect on what kind of a crisis we would have on our hands if she was able to implement her policies? That is, the provision of a free methadone program to sustain the drug habits of those who abuse, who use illegal drugs, and not only that to provide those people who currently do not come to the Northern Territory, with a reason to do so. Because many drug users interstate will not come to the Northern Territory because they cannot sustain their habit through a program supported by the taxpayer. That is, the taxpayer giving them free drugs in the form of methadone which the Labor Party wants to do. In those terms, that is where there is a distinct difference between this government and those opposite who would provide, at the expense of the taxpayer, drugs for drug abusers …
Mr Henderson: Who is paying for the morphine?
Mr REED: … to maintain their habit. Well, we are not in that program and we are not going to be in that program. And again, any assertion such as those being made by the Leader of the Opposition in terms of the access to some prescription drugs, has been shown to be false.
In terms of the actions that have been taken jointly by police and officers of Territory Health Services and cracking down on the availability of prescription medicines, the information that has just been sought by the member for Wanguri in relation to this question - or was it the Leader of the Opposition, both of them are not memorable. But in terms of the advice that has formally been provided by the minister for health, clearly demonstrates that those joint programs are working, they are reducing the availability of prescription drugs …
Ms Martin: Have you seen the figures?
Mr REED: And you will twist anything in your deceitful way to misrepresent the facts so that they can support your story rather than the facts and you have priors in that regard and that you cannot listen to the answer, that you have to keep shouting, clearly demonstrates that you do not have the capacity to either understand the information or to accept it.
So, I reject entirely the assertions made by the members opposite. They have no respect for the hard work that is done by Territory public servants in the form of the officers in the department of health, nor those policemen and women who work hard on a 24-hour basis to make Territorians safe, and to ensure that we do combat illegal drugs.
As I say, only yesterday, we introduced further amendments to amend legislation to ensure that we are even better supported in terms of the law, to combat the very issues that the member has raised.
This government has been soft on drugs for years, turning a blind eye and condemning hundreds of Territorians to needlessly having their homes broken into by your failure to tackle the drug crisis. Are you still going to stand here and deny we have a crisis on our hands, and what are you going to do about it?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition thought we had a crisis on our hands now, I just ask her to reflect on what kind of a crisis we would have on our hands if she was able to implement her policies? That is, the provision of a free methadone program to sustain the drug habits of those who abuse, who use illegal drugs, and not only that to provide those people who currently do not come to the Northern Territory, with a reason to do so. Because many drug users interstate will not come to the Northern Territory because they cannot sustain their habit through a program supported by the taxpayer. That is, the taxpayer giving them free drugs in the form of methadone which the Labor Party wants to do. In those terms, that is where there is a distinct difference between this government and those opposite who would provide, at the expense of the taxpayer, drugs for drug abusers …
Mr Henderson: Who is paying for the morphine?
Mr REED: … to maintain their habit. Well, we are not in that program and we are not going to be in that program. And again, any assertion such as those being made by the Leader of the Opposition in terms of the access to some prescription drugs, has been shown to be false.
In terms of the actions that have been taken jointly by police and officers of Territory Health Services and cracking down on the availability of prescription medicines, the information that has just been sought by the member for Wanguri in relation to this question - or was it the Leader of the Opposition, both of them are not memorable. But in terms of the advice that has formally been provided by the minister for health, clearly demonstrates that those joint programs are working, they are reducing the availability of prescription drugs …
Ms Martin: Have you seen the figures?
Mr REED: And you will twist anything in your deceitful way to misrepresent the facts so that they can support your story rather than the facts and you have priors in that regard and that you cannot listen to the answer, that you have to keep shouting, clearly demonstrates that you do not have the capacity to either understand the information or to accept it.
So, I reject entirely the assertions made by the members opposite. They have no respect for the hard work that is done by Territory public servants in the form of the officers in the department of health, nor those policemen and women who work hard on a 24-hour basis to make Territorians safe, and to ensure that we do combat illegal drugs.
As I say, only yesterday, we introduced further amendments to amend legislation to ensure that we are even better supported in terms of the law, to combat the very issues that the member has raised.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016