Major Brian Watters AO has informed me that the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), to which he was elected last year, will not allow him to hold that position while he remains Chairman of the ANCD. Consequently, he has decided to retire as Chairman of the ANCD, after over seven years in that position.
I take this opportunity on behalf of the Government to thank Major Watters for his significant contribution and service to Australia's fight against illicit drugs. He leaves the ANCD with the gratitude of the Government and the respect of his colleagues.
Over the last seven years, Major Watters has played an integral role in the development and implementation of Australia's Tough on Drugs strategy and has provided invaluable advice to the Government on illicit drug policy. Indeed, the recent release of the National Household Survey on Drug Use has shown a continuing decline in the level of illicit drug use in Australia, an outcome of which both Major Watters and the ANCD can be proud. It is no coincidence that these reductions in drug use occur within the period of the Tough on Drugs strategy, to which the ANCD has contributed greatly under Major Watters' chairmanship.
There is no doubt that many Australian lives have been saved and their families and friends spared the trauma of drug addiction as a result of the contributions of Major Watters and the ANCD. He has brought a lifetime of experience helping people overcome addiction to illicit drugs to his role as Chairman of the ANCD.
As a member of the INCB, Major Watters will take his Australian expertise to the wider international stage.
I wish him, and his wife Margaret, all the very best for the future and thank him for his hard work and dedication over the many years he has worked in the drug and alcohol field.