Bills

Controlled Substances (Poppy Cultivation) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 29 July 2015.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (20:57): I rise to speak on the Controlled Substances (Poppy Cultivation) Amendment Bill 2015. In South Australia cultivation, processing and dealing with opiate poppies is currently prohibited. The purpose of this bill is to provide a licensing scheme for poppy cultivation and processing in South Australia.

The bill aims to prevent the cultivation and processing of alkaloid poppies for criminal and improper purposes. The bill also aims to regulate poppy cultivation and processing for therapeutic and research purposes. The government is keen to support legislative change which will allow for new and economically valuable crops to be grown by South Australian farmers.

It is my understanding that the Mackillop Farm Management Group and the grain producers association have expressed their support for the legalisation of opium poppies in South Australia as it offers farmers an opportunity to explore more markets by growing a different crop.

Tasmania has been growing and cultivating alkaloid poppies for nearly 50 years. In Tasmania, to grow alkaloid poppies farmers must have a licence and a contract with a poppy cultivation company. My understanding is that this bill ensures that this will also be the case in South Australia.

In Australia, there are three pharmaceutical companies that can legally cultivate the crop. They are TPI Enterprises, Tasmania Alkaloids and GlaxoSmithKline. In 2013, Victoria, then followed by the Northern Territory in 2014, legalised the cultivation of alkaloid poppies.

This bill will legalise the cultivation of alkaloid poppies for opiate straw, which is then used to produce painkillers, including Panadeine and Nurofen Plus. A licensing system will be created. My understanding is that the licensing system, under this bill, will ensure that access to poppy fields is restricted to those who have a licence to grow poppies, and their employees, who receive an employee identification certificate to carry out activities in the business.

In Tasmania, the Poppy Advisory and Control Board in 2012 reported an industry gross value of around $100 million, with farm gate returns of between $70 million and $90 million in recent years. It has also been estimated that poppy cultivation has supplied approximately 1,000 jobs in Tasmania.

When regulating a bill like this, it is important to make sure that as much control as possible is exercised and that careful consideration is given at every level so that poppy production occurs for the right purposes. We are obligated to ensure that the community is protected from the production of harmful narcotics.

The passage of the bill will hopefully lead to the creation of new jobs in manufacturing and provide benefits for farmers who will be able to take advantage of this development and introduce a new industry in agriculture.

I thank the Hon. Mr Ridgway for introducing this bill and for his understanding when he was pushing for it to be voted on a few weeks ago. I told the honourable member to wait so that the government could consult with stakeholders. I would just like to leave him with a quote: good things come to those who wait.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (21:02): On behalf of Dignity for Disability, I am pleased to speak at the second reading of this bill today and support the initiative of the Hon. David Ridgway in introducing this bill. I thank him for that effort. I also appreciate the briefing that he and his office provided on his bill, and I welcome the agri-industry opportunities that it might bring to South Australia in terms of employment.

It has been pointed out by previous speakers and media articles that poppies have the potential to have significant medical uses and ramifications. I hope that endorsing the benefits of one crop for legal propagation for medical purposes prompts further positive debate on the use of other crops, such as medical cannabis.

I find it very disappointing that South Australia continues to drag its feet on endorsing other crops, such as medical cannabis, for people who could benefit from it by gaining relief from illness, pain and disability where no other pharmaceutical substitution has been found to be of any real benefit. So, I certainly welcome this bill.

I welcome what seems to be a very advanced and sensible debate on the use of this crop for medical purposes. I hope that this will prompt further discussion on how we can have a mature and balanced debate on other crops, including medical cannabis, and how it can be used to further alleviate the suffering of those in our South Australian community. With those comments, I certainly support the bill.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (21:04): Can I quickly sum up and thank the Hon. Tung Ngo for presenting the government's position on the bill and, of course, the Hon. Kelly Vincent for her brief remarks in relation to the bill. I think we have unanimous support in the Legislative Council for this bill to allow South Australian farmers to access the opportunity to grow opium poppies. As has been said, it has been a 40-year industry in Tasmania.

Two years ago the Victorian and Northern Territory governments passed legislation to allow their farmers to grow it. I think it is an opportunity for us to signal to our rural community that we are open to a range of options to give them a variety of crop rotations and if it is a new industry that can put more money into our regional communities then it is absolutely the right thing to do. So, I do appreciate the support.

I will quickly touch on medical cannabis, which the Hon. Kelly Vincent spoke about. I think Steven Marshall, who might be in the gallery with some friends tonight, has mentioned that we certainly support the trial of that. If you look at how opium poppies are used, they are not something that people can just grow and use, it is actually contracted to a pharmaceutical company which turns them into drugs that people can use.

If we are ever to look at growing cannabis for medical use then it would have to be under a similar regime, where a farmer is licensed to grow it and is contracted to a pharmaceutical company to turn it into an oil, or product, or tablet, or whatever consumers would like. So, we are certainly not opposed to it.

I was a little fearful, early in the process, that there may have been some amendments to this bit of legislation to bring cannabis into it and I am pleased that there were not because this is, as I said, a well established crop of some 40 years in Tasmania. It is a great opportunity for South Australian farmers. I am delighted the minister rang me yesterday to tell me that caucus and cabinet had supported the bill. I was a little disappointed when he said he had rung the media prior to ringing me, which I guess is always the risk with government ministers who are desperate for media coverage.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Positive media.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Positive media. The honourable minister, Mr Bignell, was probably a bit desperate for a bit of positive media. He has had a little bit of negative stuff in the last few months. Nonetheless, I am delighted the government has supported it and I hope it will have a speedy passage through the House of Assembly. The shadow parliamentary secretary, Adrian Pederick, will be handling the bill, but I have asked minister Bignell to speak to the Government Whip, and I have spoken to our whip, to try to expedite the passage of the bill through the House of Assembly because PIRSA really needs to have a direction from the parliament as soon as possible so it can get all the regulatory framework in place so that farmers who wish to grow the crop next year can do it. In Victoria in the first year, they dragged their feet and missed the optimum sowing time and the crop was a failure. This year, they got in at the right time and the crops look pretty good.

The Hon. S.G. Wade: What, those who wait miss out?

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: That is right. Well, I do not know about those who wait, but it is about getting it right. So, I hope we see it pass through the House of Assembly relatively quickly. I have had some off-the-record discussions with PIRSA and they are very keen to make sure they have the regulatory framework in place so that it will give that opportunity to our farmers in the next cropping season. With those few words, I thank everybody for their support and we look forward to a new industry in South Australia.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Bill taken through committee without amendment.

The Hon. A.L. McLACHLAN: Mr President, I draw your attention to the state of the council.

A quorum having been formed:

Third Reading

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (21:12): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.