New South Wales attorney general, Mark Speakman, has declared current drug policies in the state are “clearly not working”, as he pushes his government to adopt reforms which would see people caught with illicit drugs face fines, rather than appear before a judge.
Late on Wednesday night Speakman confirmed he had put forward a proposal for the introduction of a drug diversion scheme, which would see people caught with small amounts of illegal drugs face $400 penalties, rather than be arrested.
Speakman said that under the proposal police would have the discretion to issue up to two fines to an individual, with the punishment waived if the person caught with the drugs undertook some kind of counselling or health intervention.
The proposal, which is similar to the cannabis cautioning scheme already used in the state, is part of the government’s response to a special commission into ice addiction.
The commission handed its findings to the government more than two years ago, and called for a sweeping overhaul of drug laws including decriminalisation.
But the government has yet to respond to the report amid tensions in cabinet over the findings. It’s understood much of the delay has related to concern about appearing soft on drugs.
The inquiry’s author, professor Dan Howard, last week said the government had shown “a complete lack of political courage and leadership” in failing to respond. The premier, Dominic Perrottet, conceded there were “competing views” over the findings, but said the government was “very close to a resolution”.
Speakman released his statement on Wednesday night after a story appeared in Sydney tabloid newspaper the Daily Telegraph labelling the proposal “radical” and suggesting it had already been rejected by cabinet. The story quoted sources citing a fear of going “soft” on crime.
Speakman rejected the notion that a diversion scheme would be soft on crime, noting that a $400 fine was more than the average penalty for a first-time offender would be given in court, and pointing out former NSW police commissioners Mick Fuller and Andrew Scipione both supported diversion schemes.
“Illicit drugs can ruin the lives of users and those around them,” he said.
“Sadly illicit drug use is widespread in our community; for example statistics suggest that one in seven Australian men in their 20s have used cocaine in the past 12 months. The current approach is clearly not working.
“I welcome cabinet debate of this and other ways to tackle the scourge of illicit drugs in our communities.”
