15 August 2016

I’m working with Parliamentary colleagues Jo Haylen from Labor, Shayne Mallard from the Liberals and Mehreen Faruqi from the Greens to build multi-partisan support for evidence-based approaches to drug use and problems.

Our harm minimisation summit last week brought together experts and leaders like former Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, former High Court Justice Michael Kirby, Medically Supervised Injecting Centre founding director Dr Ingrid van Beek, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation President Dr Alex Wodak and former Premier Bob Carr to discuss the need for change. Harm minimisation was at the forefront of the 1999 Drug Summit and produced reforms that continue to save lives but law and order still dominates responses. Drugs policy must focus on preventing death and injury, encouraging those with problems to get effective help and on reducing crime.

Health workers, academics and legal experts all agreed on the need for a pill testing trial and the decriminalisation of drug use. We will push for another drug summit jointly convened by the Premier and Opposition Leader that recommends government on needed reforms.

Keep in touch with the harm minimisation campaign HERE.