Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to talk about a specific illicit drug that is gripping my community, and that is ice. Ice has been one of the biggest game-changers for government, law enforcement and communities. Our rehabilitation facilities are being inundated, our hospitals are admitting users on a regular basis and ambulance officers are responding daily to ice related health issues. The facts surrounding ice prove that we have a substantial epidemic on our hands. The consumption of the illicit drug methamphetamine is the highest tested across all regions in Australia. Of the European countries with comparable reported data, Australia ranks second out of the 18 countries for the consumption of methamphetamine.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics report confirms the fear associated with Australia's high drug usage. The country recorded the highest number of drug induced deaths since the late 1990s—1,808 deaths, or about 7.5 deaths per 100,000 Australians. The death rate from psychostimulants—methamphetamine or ice—has quadrupled since 1999 and is now the third-most-common substance associated with drug deaths. Over the last five years, this has increased in Queensland. Between 2009-10 and 2014-15, the annual rate of methamphetamine related hospital admissions in Queensland increased from 3.9 to 52.8 per 100,000 persons.

Fifty-one per cent of Queensland's organised crime networks are linked with ice. From 2014-15 to 2015-16, methamphetamine related arrests increased by 31 per cent. One in every three children who came into the care of the department of communities and child safety had a parent who used ice at least once, mostly within the last 12 months. These facts are horrifying and show the grip this drug is having on Queensland. If we're going to successfully tackle ice, we need a three-pronged approach. We need to address supply, demand and harm. There is no single solution that works. We need to take a health based approach that is focused on reducing demand through prevention and early intervention and through treatment programs that are flexible and community led.

We must work to reduce the harm caused by ice. We need to invest in law enforcement solutions that can target criminal networks and organised crime syndicates. We need to invest in specialised programs that provide wraparound support for families while also ensuring protection for frontline workers. In April this year the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, shadow minister for justice, Clare O'Neil, and I held an ice roundtable in Townsville. Representatives from the Salvation Army, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, Townsville Hospital and Health Service, GPs, Townsville Aboriginal and Islanders Health Services and community mental health organisations attended. We listened to horrific stories, especially some of the violence that our ambulance officers face in their work from people high on ice. Ice use does not discriminate.

One thing that was very clear is that Townsville needs a youth drug and alcohol detox facility. At the last federal election, I committed $5 million towards the Salvation Army's youth drug and alcohol detox facility. This facility would be the first in North Queensland. Unfortunately, the funding was not matched by the Turnbull government, but our community was not to be denied this facility, and, through sheer determination and hard work, the Salvation Army raised the necessary funds to build that facility for the youth in the north. However, there is no ongoing funding to deliver much-needed support services. The Salvation Army are a beacon of hope to many across North Queensland. This facility is vital for our community. What is more, families of troubled youth in northern and western Queensland deserve this facility. I call on the Turnbull government to commit operational funding to the Salvation Army's youth drug and alcohol detox facility.

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