Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is no greater duty of a member in this place than to do everything humanly possible to ensure the personal safety of our constituents and our communities. The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Psychoactive Substances and Other Measures) Bill 2014 is a well-reasoned, timely and positive step in that direction, and it is for this reason that I give it my wholehearted support. This bill contains a suite of measures aimed at preventing and deterring crime. Crime is an issue prevalent in all electorates around the nation. Regardless of how safe or unsafe a neighbourhood might seem, all communities know only too well the effects of crime, one way or another.

The same can be said of another great scourge of the modern world: the damage associated with substance abuse and drug addiction. As a father, I know only too well the concerns that grip any parent when he or she thinks about the topic of drugs and crime. Not that I would ever suspect my children—or anyone's children, for that matter—of turning to it, but the fear of the unknown and the slightest possible risk always resonates with a parent. After all, the most cautious and law-abiding citizen still feels the damning and hurtful impact of crime and substance abuse. Crime and substance abuse is not just a concern for those directly involved. Streets, suburbs and entire communities can feel its effects. It can lead to the breakup of families and societal decay. Worst of all, substance abuse and crime can and does cost lives. It preys on the vulnerable—the young, the old—or anyone who falls in its path.

That is why the government is working vigorously to fight against crime and against those that peddle illicit substances and to help those that fall victim to its grasp. This is why I support this bill and the measures within it. Most significant to me are the steps taken to target the growth of new psychoactive substances, as well as new laws aimed at tightening the trade in illegal firearms and parts. These measures are being introduced in accordance with the promise the government made to the people at the last election to be tough on crime and to help create safer communities for all.

In regard to new psychoactive drugs, I applaud the government's efforts in stemming the flow of substances that purport to provide legal highs. These substances are known to be dangerous and have been linked to many tragic incidents before. We owe it to the mothers and fathers of Australia to eradicate any foothold this dangerous psychoactive substance industry gets in this country. At this moment, new psychoactive substances are being manufactured intentionally to work around the prohibitions of illicit drugs. Some chemistry here and there and you can manufacture a substance that may have the same effect on the mind and the body as LSD. However, despite having similar hallucinogenic effects, these new psychoactive substances may be perfectly legal at the moment to buy and sell.

Our agencies are working endlessly to identify and prohibit potentially harmful substances. However, it is never that easy. Sadly, it often takes a tragedy to identify harmful substances, locate their suppliers and take them off our streets. In 2012 and 2013, for example, two teenagers from New South Wales tragically died following their consumption of a substance known as NBOMe. This substance had similar hallucinogenic effects to LSD and was clearly dangerous. However, it could be sold legally until the tragedy occurred.

The measures in this bill will stop the supply of these substances and, as such, stop them from being sold legally in stores and tobacconists across the country. To do so, this bill will introduce offences to the Criminal Code to ban the importation of substances based on their psychoactive effect and where they are presented as alternatives to illicit drugs. This is necessary as these substances are hardly ever manufactured in Australia. We need to stop the flow of these substances at the border to protect our own constituents from the misleading and harmful substances. This bill will not cause undue inconvenience to those who may legitimately need to import such substances. Certain foods and medicines, and industrial, agricultural and veterinary chemicals, may be psychoactive; however, they have legitimate purposes and, when used for their proper purpose, are largely safe. If the authority suspects someone is importing these new psychoactive substances, then officers of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and the Australian Federal Police will be authorised to seize and destroy them before they can reach the market. To ensure no-one has imported substances wrongfully seized and destroyed, affected persons will be entitled to a proper review and can challenge any seizures made. In doing so, they will have to prove they are importing the substances for legitimate purposes. If they cannot prove there is a legitimate reason for their importation they will be destroyed for good, before any more lives can be ruined by these wicked substances. Wicked may seem like a strong word, but this truly is a serious issue that requires urgent action.

To illustrate the problem of new psychoactive substances, consider this: the current approach simply would not stand if we replaced the drugs in question with alcohol. Imagine that some cunning beverage peddler pioneers a drink that mimics the effects of alcohol but contains not a single drop of it. With no alcohol present, this drink would fall outside the current legal framework that regulates the sale and consumption of intoxicating beverages. There goes the age restriction; there goes the drink-driving prohibition; there go the public prohibition laws. Even though the laws are clearly in place to target the effects of intoxication, they would be useless against these faux beers because they do not exactly fit the wording of the legislation. This hypothetical exercise applies perfectly to psychoactive drugs.

While the current legislation does well to target harmful substances already classified as illicit drugs, the scope of the legislation is sadly too narrow to include the chemical structures of these new psychoactive substances. This is exactly the reason we need the provisions of this bill, as these new psychoactive substances are specifically designed to work around the legislation and provide legal ways to get a high. The drug-marketing machine has been hard at work to sell these legal highs. According to the New South Wales police, misleading names include 'herbal highs', 'bath salts' or 'plant food'. Regardless of how the legal drug dealers disguise their products, the truth of the matter remains that these substances are still dangerous. One of the reasons they are dangerous comes down to how they are marketed.

Whether we are winning or not, we are fighting a war on drugs. Key to this has been the information war, which I think we can say we are winning. People know drugs can be harmful to them. People know the risk of serious injury or death that can come from their high. People know that safer drugs such as marijuana can still cause serious mental harm, or be a gateway drug to more dangerous drugs out there at the very least. People know they are illegal and that willingly dealing with them could lead to serious criminal charges. Essentially, people know that drugs, in the main, are dangerous and best avoided. Herein lies the problem with these new psychoactive substances: these substances, while having the same effect as illicit drugs, can still at times be legal. This gives the dealers a free pass to the market to sell their wares, as the substances' legality can be taken to imply that the substances are safe, or at least somehow less harmful than the illicit drugs whose effects they are supposed to replicate. Of similar concern is the inference some may draw that, if a substance is legal, it therefore must have been through some form of testing or approval. This is sadly not the case. These new psychoactive substances are nothing more than an untested cocktail of potentially dangerous chemicals.

This bill will stop people from importing such dangerous and untested substances. By doing so we will be protecting our children from the harms of potentially dangerous and lethal substances. This is our chance to nip this potential problem in the bud before it grows too large. With this bill we can stop the deadly trade in new psychoactive substances. We can prevent future harm, loss and grief. Considering how great a challenge it has been to bring illicit drugs under control, anything we can now do to prevent another problem emerging is a win for the country.

The other big issue this bill tackles is the lingering problem of the illegal firearms trade and gun related crime. First and foremost, this bill will see the introduction of a mandatory minimum five-year sentence for those convicted of firearms trafficking offences under the Criminal Code. This will send a clear message to those currently engaged in the illegal firearms trade, or those who may one day enter into this illegal activity, that it is a serious offence and will be dealt with by the courts in a serious manner. According to the Australian Crime Commission, there were 250,000 long arms and 10,000 handguns in the illicit firearms market in 2012. In that same year, the ABS reported that there were 454 murders in this country. Firearms were used in 25 per cent of these murders, meaning at least 113 people lost their lives to firearms. This is a frightening statistic when you consider that only a handful of these illicit firearms get into the hands of hardened criminals to make an impact. The hundreds of thousands of illicit firearms in the market and the impact they make on national crime rates makes it ever more clear that action needs to be taken here. These measures are ever more timely considering the current national security climate, the rise of Islamic extremism and the threat of terrorism at home and abroad. This bill goes further to tackle the illicit gun trade by also targeting those that traffic prohibited firearms, and firearms parts, into and out of Australia. New offences in the Criminal Code will complement existing international trafficking offences in the Customs Act.

These offences will not only make the smuggling of prohibited firearms an offence under the Criminal Code but will also criminalise the traffic in firearms parts. Currently, criminals have been able to work around current legislation by breaking down firearms and trafficking their constituent parts to be reassembled in Australia. Firearms can be quite durable and a weapon slowly smuggled into Australia part by part could survive as a lethal weapon for decades once assembled. These weapons could then find their way into the wrong hands, the hardest criminals and others with evil intentions. As a country, we have already done so much to prevent criminal and nefarious elements accessing firearms and we are often recognised internationally for our success in this area.

Following the heartbreak of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, Prime Minister Howard was quick to act in our national interest. He implemented brave reforms in the area of firearm regulations prohibiting the lethal automatic long arms that had previously caused so much pain and suffering. This has been an overwhelming success. Today we can thank our former Prime Minister for his work in this area. This bill continues that work and strives further towards preventing firearms getting into hands that should never grasp them.

The bill sends a clear message that engaging in illegal firearms trade is a serious matter and will be treated as such from here on. By closing potential loopholes around the trafficking of firearm parts, we are cutting off yet another aspect of the illegal gun trade. There will be one less gun available for organised crime with every gun that we stop illegally entering the country.

All of this is being done in keeping with the promise that we took to the electorate last year. I look forward to reporting back to my constituents that with the passage of this bill we will have made good on our promise to the people of Australia. The same goes for the prohibition of the importation of psychoactive substances. The days of these drugs being sold in our stores are over. The safer, unsuspecting customers— (Time expired)

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