Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

No, that is just absurd. Of course we are not abrogating our responsibilities. Our responsibility, as the federal government, does relate to the importation of these drugs from overseas, and we are resourcing the Australia Border Force and other agencies to do that. That is of course not what the focus of the ACT legislation is about. To argue that laws made by a territory government relating to the personal consumption of drugs are the same as organised crime importing large substances of drugs from overseas—to argue that they're the same thing—is complete nonsense. So, as I said, we'll keep focusing on fixing the various messes you left behind for us in the Home Affairs portfolio, and we'll leave it to the ACT government to do their bit.