Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the Minister for Social Services for this opportunity to have a look at the budget around social services in some more detail. I recognise that it is a part of the budget that is a significant expenditure. It is important that we ensure that we spend the public's money in a very proper manner.

I would like to reflect on one of the announcements in the budget and direct a question to the minister on the issue of the Newstart drug testing. I think we are all well aware that we have a significant issue in this country with illicit drugs in our community. This battle is a very tough one. We see every single day families who are affected by drugs, and, unfortunately, drugs do not discriminate; it can be a poor family, a middle-class family or a wealthy family.

In addition to that, it is not just those who are taking drugs and the problems that that creates for them and their families, but also all of the associated impacts on the community. Our frontline health services, our paramedics—those people are put at the forefront every day of dealing with people affected by drugs. The task before them is immense and, in many cases, it greatly affects those people. We regularly see reports of paramedics being bashed and hit by people who are affected by drugs. There certainly has been a very public discussion in Queensland about the issue of how paramedics are being treated and how we can help deal with those issues.

One of the ways that I can see for how we can help with that issue—and this is, in part, the purpose of this measure in the budget—is helping people get off drugs. The best thing we can do is help get them off drugs and restart and rebuild their lives. In taking these steps, we are seeking to encourage people to re-enter the workforce or, if they need, to retrain.

My question to the minister is: with the announcement in the budget, could the minister please provide some more detail as to how the trial for drug testing is going to work for the proposed 5,000 recipients of the Newstart allowance and youth allowance who will be in the random drug testing trial? What are the benefits that we are potentially going to see as a result of that to help give these people a hand up to allow them to rebuild their lives and make a genuine contribution to the community, which we all know they can?

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