Nova Peris (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise today to speak on the Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015. The bill seeks to amend the Social Security Act 1991 to cease social security payments to people who are in psychiatric confinement because they have been charged with a serious offence. As previous Labor speakers have said, we do not support the bill in its current form as it has unacceptable negative outcomes for those undergoing rehabilitation which do not assist them to get well and rejoin the community.

People in confinement are some of the most disadvantaged people in my constituency of the Northern Territory, and they do not deserve to be disadvantaged because of their illness. I see this amendment as mean-spirited and one which does not take into account the dignity of people who are sick. These people do not deserve to be treated as criminals. They must be recognised as people who are unwell, who are in need of medical help and who deserve to be treated with a bit of dignity. The reasons I do not support this bill are as follows.

Firstly, I do not support the criminalisation of mentally ill Territorians or mentally ill Australians. While I acknowledge that this amending legislation affects only those who have been found to have committed a serious offence, these people have also been found unfit to stand trial and so have not been found criminally responsible for that offence. As I said before, these people do not deserve to be treated like they are in prison. They deserve to get all the help they can to undergo the best rehab that they can get. That is the compassionate thing to do.

Hundreds of people in the Northern Territory, many of whom are Aboriginal, are already disenfranchised by the justice system. Many of these people suffer from serious mental impairments, such as foetal alcohol syndrome, impairments resulting from drug and alcohol abuse, and some effects of petrol sniffing. In the Northern Territory, the Country Liberal government have already criminalised alcohol addiction with their mandatory alcohol rehab program, which simply locks up alcoholics. Let us not follow their lead and criminalise other forms of mental or health impairment.

Rather than punish these people for their impairments, let us work to stop them from taking place in the first place. Let us educate the community and let us help the people in need of help. Alcohol and drug abuse, petrol sniffing and other forms of preventable impairment need ongoing funding and efforts put towards them. They are a scourge on communities in the Northern Territory.

In their recent submission to the Senate inquiry into health the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress recommended increased funding into the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse and petrol sniffing. These abuses do cause severe mental impairment, with foetal alcohol syndrome being one major issue. Many Territorians have mental impairments that have resulted from drug and alcohol abuse. Let us stop the problem before it occurs and not criminalise those who are suffering from those impairments. Let us educate our community on these effects.

Secondly, I take issue with this amending legislation because it would adversely affect the ability of sufferers of significant mental impairments to rehabilitate themselves. Many of these people are suffering from the illnesses because they were vulnerable and unable to support themselves in the first place. This amending legislation seeks to make them even more vulnerable.

Finally, I oppose this amendment because there has been little or no consultation in the community. None of the submissions presented to the inquiry supported this amendment and the government has not consulted properly with the community or the industry. Those in psychiatric confinement are under medical care. Surely those in medical care cannot be legislated on without proper research and consultation.

I do not see the point of this amendment. While I understand that these people have committed serious offences, these people have also been found to be unfit for trial in relation to these offences. They do not know right from wrong; they are often unaware of their surroundings or have little control of their own actions. I do not see the point of criminalising these people. They should not be treated like criminals. Rather we should spend our time and money trying to rehabilitate these people, and prevent others from falling into the same situation.

Some of the most vulnerable people in the Territory suffer, as I said previously, from severe mental impairment, and many of them live in unsafe environments and have suffered abuse and mistreatment. This is a problem we need to fix. We do not need to punish them by taking away their income support, taking away their dignity and making it harder for them to rehabilitate themselves.

I do not support this amendment. I do not support criminalising mental illness or addiction. I do not support adversely affecting sick people's rehabilitation. And most importantly, I do not support passing amendments without consulting the community.