Subjects: The Tough on Drugs strategy in Victoria and Australia wide
E&OE………………………………………………………………………………………
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Major Watters, the Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks, the Health Minister, Police and Emergency Services Minister and the Attorney General of Victoria, Mick Palmer the Commissioner of the Federal Police, Commissioner O’Louglin, Professor Hamilton, Professor Penington, ladies and gentlemen.
I am very pleased indeed to share the platform with the Victorian Premier today following a similar announcement and a brief function in Sydney not so long ago when I shared a platform with the New South Wales Premier and also a similar launch by my Health Minister and the Premier of Tasmania. And I hope to be followed very shortly by similar initiatives with the Premiers of the other three states of Australia.
It is important, as the Premier said, that governments, state and federal work together to do what we all collectively can do to reduce the disastrous impact of drug abuse on the young in particular but more generally the community of Australia.
Nobody has all of the answers. There are debates on the periphery I believe about aspects of tackling the drug problem. The good news story is that as to the centrality of the assault on the drug problem there’s a very high degree of agreement and a very high degree of cooperation within the Australian community.
We all agree that we need effective law enforcement and I again congratulate the state police forces of Australia, to the Federal Police. In particular I have in mind some of the seizures in recent days which involved magnificent cooperation between the Federal Police, the Customs, the National Crime Authority and the state police resources. That kind of cooperation is absolutely imperative. We all agree on that.
We also agree on how important it is to educate the young against the damage done by drug abuse. And I can’t stress that too strongly. Deterrents and educating people in their formative years against the danger of drug taking, and very importantly helping parents and welfare organisations to involve themselves effectively in those programmes is also tremendously important.
The other element of course is to provide very effective rehabilitation services. And this diversion agreement is of a piece with I think a far more effective approach to rehabilitation and assistance. I agree with Major Watters, sending people to gaol for addiction alone is barbaric and we do have to find a practical alternative to it. And I think these diversion agreements, and they were to a very large extent pioneered here in Victoria, are a very effective way of doing it.
And when we discussed at the COAG meeting probably fifteen months ago the Commonwealth’s desire to sign partnership agreements with the states to implement these diversionary programmes there was very ready agreement across the political divide from all of the states and the territories of Australia.
The Premier said, and there’ll be just on $23 million coming from the federal Government for the diversion agreement in Victoria. And I warmly welcome and thank the Premier for the announcement that he’s made on behalf of Victoria. It is a partnership, we’ll provide additional resources that will fund the treatment of people diverted from the criminal justice system. And that is where organisations such as Moreland Hall play such a tremendous role.
It’s an occasion, as well as saluting the cooperation between governments and the role of the law enforcement agencies, it’s also an opportunity for me to salute on behalf of all of the Australian people the tremendous work done by organisations such as Moreland Hall. It’s an outreach of the Uniting Church. It’s been operating I understand for more than twenty years. And it’s dealt with all forms of substance abuse- alcoholism, starting, still doing that, but has now moved more into the illicit drug area. And I think the work that is done at the coal face by such organisations, and Major Watters of course as a member of the Salvation Army brings a specialty to that understanding as well.
It is a difficult fight. There’s a lot written and said about the fight against drugs and there’s no simple answer. And there have been legitimate areas of difference on some ways of tackling the problem. But there can be no area of difference I believe in relation to the undesirability of sending people to gaol who are merely suffering from an addiction and who’ve not really seriously moved from addiction into crime. And it is to prevent the tragedy of that occurring that these agreements are being entered into. And if we can keep seven and a half thousand people here in Melbourne and in Victoria out of the criminal justice system then I think every last dollar of the money that both governments have committed will have been well spent.
Now we can’t do that without cooperation. And I’m absolutely delighted as I look around the audience this morning to see not only representatives of the state government, the federal government but the welfare organisations, the Victoria Police, the Federal Police and Professor Penington and others involved in the fight against drugs here in Victoria because this is an expression of the community’s concern an expression of the desire on the part of people, putting aside their differences on other issues, to work together as much as we can.
I have a very strong personal commitment to the Tough on Drugs strategy. We have put a lot more money into it. We don’t pretend everything we’re doing is perfect and we don’t pretend that there aren’t some areas of legitimate debate in the community. But there’s a sincere commitment by the federal Government to work with state governments irrespective of their political persuasion to see if we can make some difference over a period of time.
I think we are making a difference. It’s slow, it’s tough, it’s disappointing on occasions but it’s tremendously encouraging when you can actually get people together like this. I mean in this room there’s a fair amount of expertise and capacity to do something about the problem. I think that’s got to mean something. And it sends a very strong signal to the rest of the Australian community.
It is a real partnership and I thank the Premier warmly. I thank him for his presence and the presence of three of his Ministers who are so directly involved in the campaign against this tremendous social scourge which does touch just about everybody, some tragically, some not so tragically, some less directly. But there’s none of us who haven’t in some way known of or been associated with or in the case tragically of many deeply grieved by drug abuse. And if we can play a part in some way in reducing the problem, and I think this diversion agreement will do it and I think it does enlist all of the relevant bodies in our community. So I thank the Premier.
I have great pleasure in formally announcing the federal Government commitment of $23 million. I acknowledge the earlier contribution of the previous Victorian Government to pioneering work in this area. And I think this does represent a very strong, positive signal to the people of Victoria of the determination of the two governments that have the responsibility to work together to try and reduce the scourge of drugs within our community. And I warmly thank all of you for the help that you have given by your attendance here today and the commitment of yourselves personally and of the organisations that you represent.
Thank you very much.
[ends]