supports a bipartisan approach and believes that a national summit would be the best approach – a summit which drew upon best practice overseas and where outcomes of the summit were implemented.

fully supports a bipartisan approach which has been reflected in her past experience with ACOSS. She supports evidence based policies, which need to be continuously evaluated, as compared to dodgy policies. She felt that people with real life experience needed to be in parliament. If the Greens achieved balance of power they would seek an Australian drug policy institution – an investment for the community that looked at all drugs, not just illegal drugs. The Greens would also seek a ban on donations to parties by lobby groups such as the tobacco industry and the alcohol industry.

supports a bipartisan approach which he believes is an issue to be embraced and expressed disappointment that the Liberal party was not represented at the forum. What was needed he felt was an independent, depoliticised approach that was supported by research and evidence – an approach that was non-moralistic.

advised the audience that it was not uncommon for people with a mental health problem to self medicate, whether that be prescription drugs or illegal drugs. For him it all related to the whole person. He also drew a distinction between non-problematic use and problematic use.

in respect of co morbidity, said that governments and bureaucracies needed to think and act in cleverer and more appropriate ways. They needed to think of drug use as a health problem and she did not believe a person should be jailed for personal use.

believes a government cannot have good policy if it relates to only one aspect. What was required he believes is an holistic and evidence based approach

believes that treating legal and illegal drugs differently is hypocritical. He felt that the method of dealing with drugs should be related to the amount of harm that they cause. He supports the introduction of a needle and syringe program in prison and the introduction of a SCON type system nationally

was of the view that more harm can come from the criminal justice system and outlined the relevant sections of the Greens policy in respect of drugs (specifically sections 27 – 29) which related to a tailored sanctions approach, increased diversion and while they did not support legalisation they did support decriminalisation. They also supported the use of cannabis for medical use.

believes drug use is a health issue not a criminal justice issue. He would like to see drug courts expanded throughout Australia. He would separate out personal use from the criminal law. He said the Gillard government was committed to the UN conventions that Australia had agreed to which specify a range of criminal offences and that there would be no change to that undertaking. However he would like to be able to keep people out of prison.

said that prohibition does not work and that four decades of prohibition should have made a difference but it has not. Where there may have been success for one drug people have switched to other drugs thus continuing the cycle. He referred to the useful reports by the PC and the ACC and stressed that a body should be established that was fully independent and that would take the bias out of drug policy

said that using any leverage such as using the PC and the ACC would be useful. She also felt that foreign aid could be used to reduce the drug problem for example those countries that were dependent on drug production could be supported by foreign aid to increase education and jobs. The social drivers for poor countries that are involved in the drug trade need to be determined.

said he was open to suggestions because he was unsure of the role that either body would have. He was however of the view that harm reduction strategies work – a focus on harm reduction and demand reduction would reduce the black market

stated that the expenditure should be reversed so that 75% was spent on harm reduction

stated that the Greens had no position on the expenditure but would reverse the trend of 75% expenditure on supply reduction

stated that harm reduction was the best outcome and the Gillard government was doing this. He queried the claim in the question that 75% of illegal drug expenditure by Australian governments was correct. . [The source was the Moore, T.  (2005). Bulletin No. 2: Australian government spending estimates. DPMP Bulletin series. Fitzroy: Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre.]

Minor parties can have an influence by working with others so that all sides work together.

The Greens have a policy on this and she has had 10 years experience working on relationships. There are tools in parliament to do this such as the committee system. An important aspect to building relationships is to bring along personal stories. Building consensus can be achieved with cross-bench support.

There are ALP forums at which robust debate is engaged. He saw that lobbying caucus, highlighting the evidence was important. He claimed to be an inclusive and collaborative person. He noted also that there are some in the party that are socially aware at the national and the local level

Believes that the ACT is mature enough in self-government and should be able to govern itself without oversight by the federal government

The Greens have a policy of removing the veto powers of legislation by the federal government for laws enacted in the ACT.

The ACT suffers locally because of the federal government’s oversight and control. For example the veto powers should be removed and he noted that the ACT is under represented in the federal parliament and that representation should be increased.

Decriminalisation would be the first step, then would come supply control by regulation. He emphasised that it was a health issue

Harm minimisation needs to deal with all the factors

Supply control is irrelevant; it is how you treat people. However to just counsel people is patronising

The study from Portugal should be on the table and actively discussed

Australia is xenophobic on overseas progress – it is very reluctant to take experiences from overseas and trial them here. He is open to suggestions about how we might do that.

Supports decriminalisation and supports trials of medical use of currently illicit drugs. It is important to take control out of the hands of the Mr Bigs. If the issue is so important then why is it left to the Mr Bigs to control it?

The Greens have a policy of decriminalisation but not to legalise

The ALP would make no change to the laws. At a personal level he would work to make changes over time

Legal drugs cause the most harm but the Gillard government has moved to reduce the harm from tobacco by introducing plain paper wrapping

For the most part Australia only listens to the USA and ignores outcomes from many other countries

It is possible for the Greens to develop terms of reference for a PC inquiry which should also look to overseas experience despite our track record of not looking to non-English speaking countries

Would support any mechanism to influence debate and policy. He was reminded that the war on drugs rhetoric was similar to a naive statement from George W Bush who said in respect of AIDS in Africa that they should just not do it (have sex).

Most designer drugs are a by-product of normal drug manufacturer. Would support medical use of such drugs

There is a danger in saying one drug is more dangerous than another. Gave an example of cannabis a so-called less dangerous drug which can cause schizophrenia and psychosis.

SA where the Democrats originated is a progressive state. If there was to be a summit one should keep the politics out of it and ensure the summit outcomes and recommendations are acted upon.

Acknowledged that drug policy was hard but a drug summit would be useful. It is hard to make a courageous stand and to reform social and economic policy. Governments could do better if the fear was lost

What is needed is an open and informed and sensible debate.

Currently we do not look at the externality of the policies ie the unintended consequences, but we must do that.

The personal stories are important and need to be fed into the policy making process. But it is a question of what can realistically be achieved. The Greens drug policy must be considered as the first tranche of drug policy reform.

Having the best policy means having good evidence to support it and to measure its outcomes over time

With such people one must take a stand and be strong in that stand

It is a skill to be able to deal effectively with the shock-jocks