Ms ANDERSON - 2005-10-12
We all know the devastating impact illicit drugs have on the lives of individuals and communities in remote parts of the Northern Territory. Can the minister please update the House on outcomes being achieved by the Northern Territory Police in quelling the tide of drugs into remote communities?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Macdonnell for her question because, as I advised the House yesterday, a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in the member for Macdonnell’s electorate. As minister for Police, and also as a member of Cabinet, whenever we travel to remote communities - whether it is with individual MLAs or Community Cabinet - the one issue that is always first and foremost on people’s minds in the communities and communicated to government - particularly through the Women’s Forums, as the Chief Minister has said before - is the issue of drug running into our remote communities across the Northern Territory.
One thing that is very certain is that the people who peddle drugs into our remote communities for their own profit peddle in misery – misery in the amount of money that flies out of those communities for those drugs that does not go towards feeding children and maintaining families. It has certainly been an issue right from the first day of our government nearly five years ago; we said that we are going to attack people who deal in drugs throughout the Northern Territory community.
As part of that, 12 months ago the Police Commissioner established the Remote Community Drug Desk, which is a particular unit of the police staffed by eight drug enforcement section officers, including an intelligence officer, who actually take intelligence from the communities - from the police who are stationed throughout the communities in the Northern Territory - as well as from urban areas, and target particular peddlers of drugs. Their work was enhanced about six months ago when, for the first time, the Drug Squad in the Northern Territory received two drug detector dogs, Scent and Monty, who have been on the job for six months. These dogs are proving to be a very effective fight in this particular area.
In the last six months, the Remote Community Drug Desk team has seized 21 cannabis plants, 15.9 kg of cannabis with an estimated street value of $1m across the Northern Territory, 20 gm of methylamphetamine - and I am sure the member for Nhulunbuy will be horrified to hear this - 392 kg of kava with an estimated street value of $300 000. That is a significant piece of police work in the last six months and I commend those officers.
They have also conducted 20 remote community operations, issued three drug house notices, 25 people have been arrested and 27 summonsed on a total of 138 drug- and firearm-related charges. Through the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, the police have retained four vehicles worth an estimated $102 000, and $25 000 in cash since February 2005.
We will continue this fight against drugs being peddled, not only in our urban centres but in our remote communities. From day one when we came to government, we said that we were going to attack this area. There is absolutely nothing more heinous as a crime, to my eyes, as the people who deliberately target remote communities which, in large part, are impoverished from the start, and bleed those communities of money for their own personal gain and profit. Well, the police are now stepping up their fight in this area. The drug dogs are doing a really good job. Madam Speaker, I commend the police on their efforts to date.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Macdonnell for her question because, as I advised the House yesterday, a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in the member for Macdonnell’s electorate. As minister for Police, and also as a member of Cabinet, whenever we travel to remote communities - whether it is with individual MLAs or Community Cabinet - the one issue that is always first and foremost on people’s minds in the communities and communicated to government - particularly through the Women’s Forums, as the Chief Minister has said before - is the issue of drug running into our remote communities across the Northern Territory.
One thing that is very certain is that the people who peddle drugs into our remote communities for their own profit peddle in misery – misery in the amount of money that flies out of those communities for those drugs that does not go towards feeding children and maintaining families. It has certainly been an issue right from the first day of our government nearly five years ago; we said that we are going to attack people who deal in drugs throughout the Northern Territory community.
As part of that, 12 months ago the Police Commissioner established the Remote Community Drug Desk, which is a particular unit of the police staffed by eight drug enforcement section officers, including an intelligence officer, who actually take intelligence from the communities - from the police who are stationed throughout the communities in the Northern Territory - as well as from urban areas, and target particular peddlers of drugs. Their work was enhanced about six months ago when, for the first time, the Drug Squad in the Northern Territory received two drug detector dogs, Scent and Monty, who have been on the job for six months. These dogs are proving to be a very effective fight in this particular area.
In the last six months, the Remote Community Drug Desk team has seized 21 cannabis plants, 15.9 kg of cannabis with an estimated street value of $1m across the Northern Territory, 20 gm of methylamphetamine - and I am sure the member for Nhulunbuy will be horrified to hear this - 392 kg of kava with an estimated street value of $300 000. That is a significant piece of police work in the last six months and I commend those officers.
They have also conducted 20 remote community operations, issued three drug house notices, 25 people have been arrested and 27 summonsed on a total of 138 drug- and firearm-related charges. Through the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, the police have retained four vehicles worth an estimated $102 000, and $25 000 in cash since February 2005.
We will continue this fight against drugs being peddled, not only in our urban centres but in our remote communities. From day one when we came to government, we said that we were going to attack this area. There is absolutely nothing more heinous as a crime, to my eyes, as the people who deliberately target remote communities which, in large part, are impoverished from the start, and bleed those communities of money for their own personal gain and profit. Well, the police are now stepping up their fight in this area. The drug dogs are doing a really good job. Madam Speaker, I commend the police on their efforts to date.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016