Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question goes to a very important policy of this government—that is, to make lives better by implementing a two-year trial of drug testing for 5,000 recipients of Newstart allowance and youth allowance for illicit substances like ice, ecstasy and marijuana. It is a compassionate policy. It is about making lives better. It is an issue that is close to my heart because of the experience that I've had firsthand in my own family about the intersection of illicit drugs and welfare in our community. It's about getting people with drug issues the services and treatment they need to beat their addiction and to get on a path to a productive life for themselves and their family.

Substance abuse stops jobseekers from undertaking job search and it stops them from working. If you are bombed out of your brain on drugs and booze you can't search for work and, if you get that interview, you won't get that job. Substance abuse impacts so many in the community and not just the person taking the drugs. Families and friends all experience the social and financial strains and the safety issues that come from that individual who is taking drugs.

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program provides concrete data to inform drug policy. This year the program estimated the weight of four of the illicit drugs tested for. More than 8.3 tonnes of methamphetamine, three tonnes of cocaine, 1.2 tonnes of MDMA and more than 700 kilos of heroin were consumed between August 2016 and August 2017. Our community has a big problem with drugs. A really important part of the drug-testing trial is a dedicated fund for the treatment of those people who are identified with drugs in their system. This is something that is often overlooked by those who are trying to defeat this important and compassionate policy.

An opposition member: That would be me.

Yes, that's you—absolutely it is. Ten million dollars will be provided to support those people that need the services, once they are identified with drugs in their system. This is in addition to the almost $685 million the government has already committed over four years to reduce the impact of drug and alcohol abuse on individuals, families and communities. That includes an investment of almost $300 million as part of the national ice strategy to improve treatment, education and prevention, to tackle the scourge of ice.

Some of our colleagues opposite speak about the drug-testing trial in isolation, without any mention of the support services that this trial will deliver. The $10 million is significant, but let's remember it's a trial. In my view, it is those support services that are being trialled as well. The drug tests and the support services are being trialled together, because we have to allocate more resources to those people in our community that need it.

I spoke about how I know about the intersection of welfare and drugs from my family experience. The minister is aware of the story in my family and in my life, when my parents took custody of my two nieces from a drug-fuelled, abusive environment. I've spoken in the House about my thoughts for my niece's mother, who was someone who took drugs and who, when I've reflected on what the government is trying to do, didn't have the important intervention in her life at a young age that may have—very likely would have—led to a different outcome than that we have today. It is an outcome where we have a large degree of hospitalisation of a very sick person—someone who wasn't able to raise their children, someone in a family who had the grandparents take on the additional responsibility.

People say to me: 'Well, if we are going to trial this for 5,000 welfare recipients, who in the past would go untested, wouldn't get that intervention, wouldn't have the opportunity to access those further support services, what difference could this make? Could it make a difference to a hundred people's lives? If it can, that's worth it.' So I'm very passionate about this trial. Can the minister update us on the additional services that will be provided alongside the compassionate trial of drug testing for 5,000 recipients of Newstart and youth allowance? Can the minister advise us on what additional support services will be provided that will also be trialled as part of this process?

See this speech in context