MP claims drugs victories

By Paul Pickering
FEDERAL MP Christopher Pyne addressed an audience of youth counsellors, school teachers, community groups and concerned parents at the Mooroolbark Community Centre recently week, declaring that the Government was turning the corner in the war on drugs.
The anti-drugs forum, hosted by Casey MP Tony Smith, was attended by a small but passionate contingent of the Casey community on Monday, 30 April.
Mr Pyne, South Australia’s Sturt electorate MP and Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing, extolled the virtues of the Government’s Tough on Drugs strategy in front of a panel which included Mooroolbark Police officers.
He said that the zero tolerance policy had brought a reduction in the proportion of Australians using illicit drugs from 22 per cent in 1998 to 15 per cent in 2004.
For Mr Smith, who has been a staunch advocate of the Tough on Drugs strategy, the forum was an opportunity to develop the community partnerships he regards as a vital weapon in the war on drugs. The panel unanimously agreed that the most important of these partnerships was between children and their parents.
Ringwood Police Senior Constable Stuart Sorrell spoke of the difficulty experienced by law enforcers in addressing school kids about the dangers of illicit drug use.
“They are a tough audience,” he admitted, before encouraging parents to discuss drugs with their children rather than lecturing them.
“The most important thing we encourage parents to do is to keep the lines of communication open,” Sen Con Sorrell concluded.
Mooroolbark Senior Constable Julie McDonald added that the police are often overlooked as a source of consultation and referral for drug users and their families.
When the discussion was handed over to the public, it was the stirring accounts of a grandfather and a mother that tempered the air of political optimism.
Both spoke candidly of their horrific experiences with family members succumbing to illicit drug use, pleading for funding assistance to subsidise expensive detoxification clinics.
While both MPs agreed that the provision of longer-stay rehabilitation facilities was a priority, Mr Smith noted the need to prevent people from reaching rock bottom.
“We can’t sit back and fund the problems drug dealers cause us,” he said.
“We’ve got to stop them.”
Quick to assure those present that the treatment of drug users was not being overlooked, Mr Pyne pointed to the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a further $79.5 million towards the expansion of the Non-Government Organisation Treatment Grants Program.
Mr Pyne also announced that the next phase of the Government’s drugs campaign – costing $9.2 million over four years – would focus on education and treatment issues relating to crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice. Information on illicit drug education, enforcement and treatment is available on the Australian Drug Foundation website at www.adf.org.au.