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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 13 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4180 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

seem to have become more and more tolerant and are trying to find more and more ways of dealing with the problem; but the problem has continued to grow unabated. I think the converse of what Mr Stanhope said could apply as well. We have tried more and more things. We have tried to tolerate it more. We have tried more liberal approaches and they, clearly, have not worked.

I am not going to comment on what happens in the United States, Mr Speaker. I went to a session at Kaleen High School organised by Dave Rugendyke and a gentleman came up to me with some literature indicating that, if anything, the American situation was improving. I saw that literature. I merely mention that. I am not going to comment any further on it. I have, however, had a look more recently at what the Swedes are doing. It is interesting and there may be some guidance for us there.

There are many problems with the Bill that is before us. The police have raised many varied and real problems with it - problems of enforcement, problems with heroin still being an illegal substance and people can be charged for possession and supply of heroin. There are difficulties there in relation to this safe injecting place, shooting gallery, call it what you will.

The fundamental difference between this proposal and having a heroin trial - I have real problems with that, too - is that at least the Government would be supplying the drug for the trial and I think that there would be more science to that, whereas with this shooting gallery the heroin would be an illegal substance. One of the big problems is the legal minefield that is being created, as indicated by the fact that we have amendments tonight and no-one seems to have got it quite right. There are varying views there. The police have real and understandable concerns about how on earth they are meant to enforce the law. Another real problem is that the heroin that will be used there will be, in most instances, the proceeds of crime. Maybe 85 or 90 per cent of it will be the proceeds of crime. That is something that really concerns a lot of the citizens in our community.

The courts are being sent mixed messages. It is a difficult enough area for the courts at present and I do not think that it assists the law to send mixed messages on it. Young people also will be sent the wrong message. Whilst I hear what others opposite say, I do not think that you can get away from that. A little later I will cite a survey of young people which was conducted in relation to this issue of drugs. I think that there are some very interesting messages for us in that. But we cannot get away from the fact that if this proposal is condoned by the Assembly, and it looks very much like it will be, there is a chance that it will send a wrong message to young people in our society. I think that we need to send the message to them quite clearly, and they are getting mixed messages at present, that taking drugs is incredibly dangerous, that it is something that they should avoid at all costs, and that in the case of serious drugs there is a very real risk that they will die.

In the past we have sent some very good messages to young people. We did so in relation to the campaign against AIDS. The anti-smoking campaign has seen a real reduction in the number of young people taking up smoking, especially males. The ACT public do not like this proposal. The overwhelming impression I have got from the people I have spoken to is that most of them are very much against it. I think that there

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