CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES (POSSESSION OF PRESCRIBED EQUIPMENT) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 21 November 2007. Page 1459.)

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (11:03): I rise to indicate my support for this bill. However, I am a little confused: we have now been waiting for almost two years for a hydroponics bill from the government that was to be bigger and better than anything we have seen before, yet on reading the bill I was concerned that it really does not go far enough. There is more to dealing with the hydroponics problem than simply banning a few pieces of equipment—although that is a start, I give it that. In my opinion there are other things that need to be taken into consideration when trying to deal with this problem, but I also recall that the Hon. Paul Holloway said, in his explanation, that this is the first of a series of bills to deal with this. I will be interested to see exactly what approach will be taken with that.

Looking at the bill, I am considering whether some amendments could be made regarding some of the equipment mentioned; however, I am happy that the government has made a move to finally deliver on at least something to do with hydroponics. I must say that I am a little disappointed in what is contained in the bill, but I will wait until, hopefully, some time next year for the other pieces of legislation that are supposed to fit with this.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (11:05): I understand that all members who wish to speak on this bill have done so, and I thank them for their indications of support.

I would like to address some questions asked by the Hon. Michelle Lensink. The first was about the time it has taken to bring the Controlled Substances (Serious Drug Offences) Amendment Act 2005 into operation. I sympathise with the honourable member's concern; it has been an unusually long and drawn out process. The Controlled Substances (Serious Drug Offences) Amendment Act was assented to on 8 December 2005. The operation of the act depends on the existence of very lengthy and detailed regulations consisting mainly of lists of drugs and chemicals. These lists run to pages and had to be compiled with the assistance of expert chemists and forensic scientists.

In addition, the legislation requires amounts to be set for each drug representing trafficable, commercial and large commercial quantities. There was a national process set up by the Ministerial Council for Drug Strategy to do that job, and this national process took about 18 months. Further consultation with SA Police took another three months, and the drafting exercise was also extremely technical. The result is that this will all come into effect on 3 December 2007—effectively, next week.

The Hon. Ms Lensink also asked whether or not pill-crushers, as used by nursing homes, would be included in the list. We have supplied an indicative list that the honourable member will note does not include pill-crushers. This list is still being finalised, and the final version will consist of what the government is advised is equipment commonly used in the manufacture or cultivation of illicit drugs. Whether pill-crushers are placed on the list will depend on that advice; however, if pill-crushers are included I very much doubt that any specified uses will be exempt. The point is that the listed equipment is not banned; it is declared to be presumed unlawful and has to be justified to a police officer and, failing that, a court. That is the policy behind the measure. It is not intended to be a system of regulation of equipment by licensing or anything of that sort. I trust that answers those questions. I hope that it answers the first question also and addresses the issues raised by the Hon. Ann Bressington. If it does not, we can deal with it in committee. Again, I thank members for their indications of support.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The Hon. Ann Bressington did ask a question but, unfortunately, I was having other discussions at the time. She asked about progress on the legislation in relation to hydroponics, and my advice is that, in terms of those discussions, the South Australian police are considering their position in relation to those issues. As soon as that work is finalised it will be drafted with the Attorney.

Clause passed.

Remaining clauses (2 to 5) and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

Bill read a third time and passed.