Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Evans. Minister, the Prime Minister said this week he would tackle binge drinking and illicit drugs. Given the expected explosion of heroin production in Afghanistan now reaching Australia, and the consequential increases in overdoses, will you do what the previous government refused to do: will you properly evaluate the effectiveness of our law enforcement approach that has only ever captured 13 per cent of heroin coming into the country? Do you agree with the Washington based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, who say money spent on eradication is money wasted? And do you accept that tighter and harsher penalties just fill our jails with users, not dealers?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Allison for the question. I can see why she directed it to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, because I think it is a fairly broad question. It went across Afghanistan, foreign law, eradication, health issues and binge drinking. I am not sure I can actually do the question justice, but I think it is fair to say in terms of Afghanistan and the poppy crop that the Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, did highlight the concern about that crop and its role in the Afghanistan war and his serious concern about looking to do something about economic replacement for the crop.

In terms of the binge drinking issues, I am sure Senator Ludwig will have something to say about that later on in question time because it is very much a concern of the government and I think a concern of the broader community, and certainly a concern of parents. I know for those of us with teenagers who have just been exposed to drinking et cetera it is a very difficult issue as to what you should allow, how you manage it and what you say to the kids. I think all parents are grappling with those things, but it is a much broader problem. Yesterday’s announcement is about engaging the community in how we tackle this growing problem. It is not a new one but it is a growing and emerging concern.

In terms of the health policies and dealing with heroin issues, I am happy to take that part of the question on notice and get an answer for Senator Allison from the Minister for Health and Ageing. I do not have any specifics on health policy response to heroin usage. I will take that part on notice and get back to you, Senator.

Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a supplementary question, Mr President. I thank the minister for his answer and I am pleased to see that the government is looking at economic replacement. Can I also ask, and I repeat my question in this respect, if the government will properly evaluate the effectiveness of the current system of law enforcement, which has been shown to be ineffective in stopping heroin coming to this country. Will the minister take on notice whether he accepts the fact that addiction is very difficult to overcome and change the fact that treatment services in this country are hopelessly under-resourced? Will he take harm minimisation seriously, such as safe injecting rooms? Will the government take steps to work with Afghanistan to encourage them to join legal heroin production systems for conventional pharmaceuticals as well as economic replacement crops?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is fair to say that Senator Allison’s question was a direct follow-on from the original question and covered exactly the same amount of scope. I cannot do justice to it in a one-minute response. I am not sure I accept that law enforcement has been ineffective. I do not think anyone ever pretends it is the whole answer but I do think it is a question of having a mix of policies. Law enforcement is very important to us in combating the importation of heroin and other illegal drugs. It is perfectly reasonable for us to assess the success of those measures. I think an evidence based approach to these matters is most important, but there is a role for law enforcement, there is a role for education, there is a role for treatment and there is a role for community engagement. All of those things have to be part of any response to the scourge of drugs that we as a community face. If I can get any further information that will assist in answering the senator’s question, I will do so.