Barry O'Sullivan Queensland, National Party
3:54 pm
I move:
(a) notes:
( i ) the near fatal overdose by five young people of the deadly and illegal drug fantasy, gamma hydroxybutyrate , at a South Stradbroke Island dance party on 7 June 2015, and
(ii) the near fatal overdose by four young people of the deadly and illegal drug ecstasy on a Good Friday cruise in Sydney Harbour on 4 April 2015; and
(c) calls on the Australian Greens to condemn their New South Wales counterparts for their attempts to ban police sniffer dogs – an important police tool for preventing such overdoses at music festivals.
Gavin Marshall Deputy-President
The question is that the motion be agreed to.
Richard Di Natale Victoria, Australian Greens
4:02 pm
Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.
Richard Di Natale Victoria, Australian Greens
I understand Senator O'Sullivan's desire to wedge the Greens on an issue like this, but Senator O'Sullivan needs a little education when it comes to the issue of sniffer dogs. Sniffer dogs do not actually work in reducing drug use. In fact, sniffer dogs get it wrong two-thirds of the time—a bit like Senator O'Sullivan himself. They have an appalling track record when it comes to recording convictions on this stuff. But here is the kicker: some serious overdoses and fatalities have been directly attributed to the sniffer dogs themselves. What happens is this. When a young person is at a festival, sees a sniffer dog and does not want to get caught, it is an incentive to ingest sometimes toxic levels of substances. We have seen people die because of sniffer dogs.