Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday the coalition government brought into this House a bill to help young people on Newstart and youth allowance get off drugs and be job ready. I commend the Morrison-McCormack government for this initiative to help our youth and to offer them a better life for their future. But there are those who seek to enable drug usage, and that has never been more than today. On the front page of TheDaily Telegraph in my state of New South Wales, the New South Wales deputy state coroner, in draft recommendations in the report of the inquiry into the deaths of a number of young people at festivals, is supporting the legalisation of pill testing, while criticising or questioning the conduct of police in carrying out drug searches. What kind of message is that sending to our youth? 'Hey kids, drugs are illegal, but, if you get them into the festival, we will test them and you can take as many as you like.' What kind of message is that sending to our drug dealers? 'New South Wales is open for business; get the pill press out of the cupboards, boys.' When will people realise that pill testing doesn't work? It will tell you one thing—that there is ecstasy in there. And guess what? Ecstasy kills. One pill can kill. Fortunately, there is a very sensible Premier in New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, who won't have a bar of it. I commend her and I commend this government on their strong stance against illicit, dangerous drugs.