❓ Question regarding the Premier's previous comments on drug policy, specifically safe injecting rooms and heroin trials, met with a highly charged and evasive response, referencing unrelated allegations against the questioner and historical context.
AnsweredQoN 735Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
DRUG POLICY - PREMIER’S COMMENTS
I refer to Kevin Rudd’s statement on an ABC radio interview last Monday that Labor’s general approach to drug policy is one of zero tolerance. (1) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - . . . a serious study or trial of the benefits or otherwise of safe injecting rooms for heroin users should be undertaken immediately in Western Australia. Mr A.J. Carpenter : Thank you; come in spinner! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will be happy if the Premier answers this question; he does not answer many others. (2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
I refer to Kevin Rudd’s statement on an ABC radio interview last Monday that Labor’s general approach to drug policy is one of zero tolerance. (1) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - . . . a serious study or trial of the benefits or otherwise of safe injecting rooms for heroin users should be undertaken immediately in Western Australia. Mr A.J. Carpenter : Thank you; come in spinner! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will be happy if the Premier answers this question; he does not answer many others. (2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
(1) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - . . . a serious study or trial of the benefits or otherwise of safe injecting rooms for heroin users should be undertaken immediately in Western Australia. Mr A.J. Carpenter : Thank you; come in spinner! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will be happy if the Premier answers this question; he does not answer many others. (2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will be happy if the Premier answers this question; he does not answer many others. (2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
(2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
(1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
(1) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - . . . a serious study or trial of the benefits or otherwise of safe injecting rooms for heroin users should be undertaken immediately in Western Australia. Mr A.J. Carpenter : Thank you; come in spinner! Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will be happy if the Premier answers this question; he does not answer many others. (2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I will be happy if the Premier answers this question; he does not answer many others. (2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
(2) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in this house as follows, and I quote - There should be a trial for the provision of heroin, under very strict circumstances, to heroin users in Western Australia. (3) Does the Premier still stand by his comment in the house as follows, and I quote - I advocate that a heroin trial be held in Western Australia . . . (4) Will the Premier follow through with his commitment and start putting heroin injecting rooms next to the brothels he is trying to force into our suburbs? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: (1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
(1)-(4) Are there any children in the gallery? Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : A couple. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I do not want to run the risk of offending anybody in the preface to my response by reminding the Parliament that the question has come from a person who sought to defend the right of a person to have sex with animals and then teach children. Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. Johnson : No, I did not. Don’t tell lies in this house. Point of Order Mr C.J. BARNETT : Mr Speaker, this is an absolute abuse of question time. The Premier has been asked a question and I would ask that you request he answer it. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I will answer it. I am happy to answer it. Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : If the Premier wants to move to suspend standing orders, he can do so. This is just a disgrace. It is a joke. The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : The member for Cottesloe may think it is a joke. The answer to the question, I hope, will not last particularly long. The Premier is answering the question. The question is seeking to rely upon what the Premier said at some earlier time. I would have thought the member who asked the question should expect exactly that back. Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. Johnson : I do not mind if he tells the truth, Mr Speaker, and does not just selectively quote, when it is from a man who has said he has visited brothels. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we are. That is the calibre of the person who has asked the question. However, I am glad that he has done it. Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : Your calibre used to be higher, but it’s dropped to the gutter after your comments. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Did the member for Dawesville hear the Leader of the Opposition on radio this morning? Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : I am talking about your comments to me earlier this week; they were disgusting. My respect for you has totally gone. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Were all of the Leader of the Opposition’s comments accurate, or did I miss something in what the member for Dawesville said to me across the chamber? Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr K.D. Hames : I am saying that you know it’s true. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Oh dear! Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr Speaker, let us go back in time to 1999 when the members on this side of the chamber were on the opposite side and the remnants of the former government were on this side of the chamber. What was the situation in 1999 in Western Australia? The situation was that almost 100 young Western Australian people were dying from heroin overdoses every year in this state - 100 of them. Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr C.J. Barnett : There was a flood of heroin into Australia. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There was a flood. I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I hesitate to heap too much praise on one member of the opposition today, but I recall that such was the level of community concern - desperation - that the member for Nedlands, who was not then a member of Parliament, convened a public meeting at Christ Church Grammar School in what is now her electorate. The meeting was attended by hundreds of frantic people from the western suburbs of Perth who were desperate for some solution to prevent their children from killing themselves with heroin overdoses. Correct? They were desperate to prevent their children from killing themselves and from becoming some of hundreds of young people who were dying every year in this state. It was an epidemic that had no respect for suburbs, for socioeconomic divide or for race; none! I think at least six, eight or 10 people stood at that meeting and gave shocking accounts of the impact that heroin had had on their families. A young man stood - he was probably a bit younger than 30 years of age - and said that several of his classmates from his school, Christ Church Grammar, were now dead because of the heroin epidemic. The people at that meeting were crying out - begging - the state government of the day to do something, anything, to protect their children from the scourge of heroin addiction and death. I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I was appointed as the shadow minister for drugs policy in Western Australia. I went along to the meeting. It was an amazing meeting. The member for Cottesloe was there. The minister responsible at the time was Rhonda Parker. Another member was there, the member for Joondalup at the time, Chris Baker, with an adviser from Rhonda Parker’s office who is now a senator. They sat behind us scoffing at what was going on. Is that not correct, member for Nedlands? Please say yes. Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Ms S.E. Walker : I don’t know whether they were scoffing, but it was Mathias Cormann who came along with her. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : They were scoffing at the pain that people were describing and their pleas for assistance. Rhonda Parker’s sole response was, “Tell them to say no.” That was the only solution that she offered those people. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Roe was not a member of this place; he knows nothing. I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I went to Dr George O’Neil’s clinic twice. On one particularly vivid occasion that I recall and will never forget, the place was strewn with young bodies, young boys mainly in their teens - Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Ms K. Hodson-Thomas : And young girls. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Yes, young boys and young girls strewn across the floor, some dying from heroin addiction, begging for assistance from the state government, of which the man who asked this question was a minister and, I believe, a prominent member. They were begging for help to save their lives. George O’Neil was begging for assistance to help save those lives. One of the suggestions that came forward, based on a trial that had had some success in New South Wales, involved a limited form of heroin provision and an injecting facility. Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Several members interjected. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : George O’Neil’s suggestion was naltrexone. I said one of the suggestions that came from - Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Leschenault! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Honestly; he should not. Has the member for Leschenault ever been there and seen the epidemic? Has he ever seen the impact. Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr D.F. Barron-Sullivan interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : He has seen nothing. If he did, he has done what the rest of the people on that side of Parliament have done - apart from the now member: they turned their backs on those people. They turned their backs and let them die in their dozens. One suggestion came forward. In the end, the Gallop Labor government developed a comprehensive policy to address drug addiction and the misuse of drugs in Western Australia. We developed a comprehensive set of policies, including funding George O’Neil so that he could provide that assistance. We still fund him. He has been begging for more assistance from the federal government, while acknowledging that only this state government has been assisting him. He saves people’s lives. There we go. I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I remember the public meeting the member for Darling Range and I attended. The anger towards him was palpable because he was impotent; he was hamstrung by the government policy of the day. He could offer nothing to those people. We stood in sweltering heat on a stage in a Christian church hall in Subiaco full of families who had been devastated. The member for Darling Range had nothing to offer, other than - Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr J.H.D. Day : That’s your opinion - Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : It is true and the member for Darling Range knows it. He was embarrassed and ashamed. Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr J.H.D. Day : Absolute rubbish. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : There we go. We put into place a comprehensive package of policies to try to address that scourge, including engaging the entire community in a debate, I think in this chamber, pulled together by the former Minister for Health Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : We gained the support of the entire community - the medical community, the police and so on - for a comprehensive package of measures. Now what has happened? All the statistics - I have read them out in this chamber - show a dramatic decline in the number of people dying from drug overdoses in Western Australia, not just heroin but all of them. There we go. The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The question came from a member with the mindset that I outlined very briefly just to put it into some sort of context, questioning what we had done and why. That was my response to it. I will contrast our response to that issue with his response when he was in government and had an opportunity to offer - Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr R.F. Johnson interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member for Hillarys did nothing. He was a complete and utter failure. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I did not become the minister responsible, but the policy put in place by this side of the house under Geoff Gallop effectively saved hundreds of people’s lives. Hundreds of people who would otherwise be dead are walking around alive, and living fulfilling lives. Their families have been spared what members opposite inflicted upon so many families by their utter indolence. There we go. Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr P.D. Omodei interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, Leader of the Opposition! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : The member should not be afraid to call that fourth time. I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
I now believe that the situation has been changed dramatically due to the package of measures and other factors that have been put into place. Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr C.J. Barnett : What about the ice situation? It’s out of control. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Cottesloe. Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : Where has the member for Cottesloe been in the past few months? I believe that particular policy suggestion is not required.
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