NICK MCCALLUM:
The Prime Minister Tony Abbott joins us now. Mr Abbott, thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Nick, it is good to be with you.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Specifically, what will this Taskforce do?
PRIME MINISTER:
We want an urgent stocktake of what all the states and territories are doing to combat the ice scourge because this is a dreadful scourge and it is getting worse. We think that something like 200,000 Australians are using ice. We think that 50,000 of them are using it at least weekly. This is a drug which is very addictive; worse than heroin, worse than cocaine, worse than LSD. It predisposes people to extreme violence and very severe mental illness and it has horrible disfiguring side effects if people are regular users. So, it is an absolutely awful drug and it is stalking our cities, our regional centres and it is very important that every jurisdiction, every police force, every drug educator and rehabilitator is taking this matter seriously and what we want is an urgent stocktake so that we can do everything which is humanely possible to limit the use and the impact of this dreadful drug.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Prime Minister, it appears though that every state has got its taskforce – the federal Government has now got a taskforce. There appears to be a lot of talking about this but not a hell of a lot of boots on the ground if you know what I mean.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I know a lot is being done because this morning I inspected some of the massive quantities of this drug which has been seized over the last couple of months by Australian Federal Police in cooperation with New South Wales Police. So, a lot is being done but frankly more needs to be done given the fact that ice use has dramatically expanded over the last couple of years. In NSW alone there has been a 25 per cent increase in ice-related arrests and seizures. This is replicated right around the country. So, the problem is getting worse, that is why it is important that we have this urgent stocktake. We learn what is working, what is not working and we get cracking with the things that are succeeding.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Ok, why did you choose Ken Lay as the Taskforce chief?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Ken Lay is a very, very well respected policeman. He is familiar with the problem. He is now in a position to be able to dedicate himself to other projects and he will be joined by a respected expert in the law and a respected expert in education and rehabilitation and that is what we will put together to give us this urgent report so that we do get urgent action everywhere as opposed to a bit here and a bit there.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Do you think all governments, all state and all previous federal governments and yours really, that the ice epidemic has sort of crept up on you. Did we drop the ball about this drug?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I think we might have. Certainly in 2007, the Howard Government, in which I was the Health Minister, was very concerned about ice. You might remember we started running a national public health campaign with pretty graphic television advertising. I don’t think, at least in terms of public awareness, there has been anything much done over the intervening period. We have got quite a large amount of money which we will soon be devoting to renewed public information campaign here. If young people knew just what horrific damage this drug could do to you, I think that would dramatically limit demand and of course if we dramatically limit demand obviously that has an impact on everything else.
NICK MCCALLUM:
We spoke to an expert a little earlier – a former adviser to the UN. She said the emphasis should be on, she basically said give us money for the health services straight away, we can put it straight to use. They need more money for the specialised health services.
PRIME MINISTER:
The Commonwealth is currently spending about $200 million on drug treatment and rehabilitation and obviously in the light of Ken Lay’s report we will consider whether that is sufficient. There needs to be actions at a whole range of levels. We need law enforcement action in every jurisdiction. We need health action and we need action to alert the community to just what kind of a scourge this is. As I said, if young people saw how this drug can utterly disfigure you; it can turn beautiful young people into people who are old and haggard and ravaged in a matter of months – that’s what it can do to you. If people were aware of this they would be much less tempted to use it.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Last year, Prime Minister, Neil Mitchell did a lot of work on ice and one of the statistics he uncovered was that only three per cent of containers are inspected at the docks. Now, is that enough and what is being done to change that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we’ve put an extra $80-odd million into Customs screening over the last 12 months. That was money that the former government took out. There was a 25 per cent reduction in sea cargo screening and a 75 per cent reduction in air cargo screening under the former government. The screening rates have been restored thanks to the extra money we put in and certainly today at the AFP Headquarters in Sydney I saw a lot of material which has been seized out of the post, off our container wharves, because of the additional screening that’s now going on.
NICK MCCALLUM:
When will you expect Mr Lay’s report, Mr Abbott? And do you commit that it’ll be straight action as soon as you get it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, I do, Nick. I’ve asked Ken to give us his report by the end of June because this is a desperate problem now but you’ll also see action in terms of a public awareness campaign getting underway well before then.
NICK MCCALLUM:
And is this the biggest problem do you think that the nation faces today?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I’m reluctant to nominate it as the biggest problem we face, but it is certainly a very serious one. We have a range of different problems, Nick, we’ve got a budget problem, we’ve got a terrorism problem, we’ve got a whole range of problems but this a public health disaster, it’s a law enforcement issue of major proportions. So, we’ve got a few things on our plate, but the thing about this Government is we are moving as swiftly as we can to address the pressing problems that we face. We are getting on with Government and that’s what I think you saw today.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Ok, and just finally, Prime Minister, will young people be represented on this Taskforce? Because obviously they’re the ones that are suffering the most and they’re the ones that may have some of the solutions?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the plan is to have a legal expert and a health and education expert on the task group. I don’t know what age they’re likely to be but I absolutely take your point; in the end if we are going to reduce demand, we need to get into the heads of the young people who are in particular tempted to use this drug. My message to them is very clear: don’t. Whatever you do, don’t. Whatever high you might get tonight, it could be the ruination of your life.
NICK MCCALLUM:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, I know you’re very busy, I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you, Nick.
[ends]