❓ Mr. Millman asks about the success of the McGowan government's efforts to reduce methamphetamine use in WA, referencing the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program. The Minister responds positively, citing significant declines in methamphetamine consumption and increased resources allocated to combatting the issue.
AnsweredQoN 112Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
METHAMPHETAMINE
112. Mr S.A. MILLMAN to the Minister for Police:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's efforts to not only crack down
on the supply of methamphetamine in WA, but also reduce demand for this
insidious drug in our community. Can the minister update the house on what the
latest results of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program show about
this government's success in reducing the use of methamphetamine in Western
Australia?
112. Mr S.A. MILLMAN to the Minister for Police:
I
refer to the McGowan Labor government's efforts to not only crack down
on the supply of methamphetamine in WA, but also reduce demand for this
insidious drug in our community. Can the minister update the house on what the
latest results of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program show about
this government's success in reducing the use of methamphetamine in Western
Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Mount Lawley for that excellent question and for raising
such an important issue in this house. I think everyone here knows what a terrible
scourge methamphetamine is on our community and how it wrecks lives and
families. That is why our government embarked on a methamphetamine action plan
and invested the best part of $250 million additional money to target
methamphetamine. Over half of that money has gone to the WA Police Force and we
have engaged 100 additional sworn officers and 20 other staff to tackle it. The
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has been monitoring wastewater
sites right around Australia for some years now. It does that roughly every
four months, in April, August and December of each year. I am very pleased to
say that results released today from the testing in August 2019 indicate a significant
decline on April. The last two sets of results have shown quite dramatic declines. In fact, for the metro area, we have
seen a decline of some 19 per cent between April and August 2019, and in
regional areas a decline of 10 per cent. This is very useful information for
people right around Australia, to see how we are tracking what drugs are being
used in the community and what proportions they are being used in.
When
I looked back to the peak of meth consumption, I saw that, according to the
wastewater results, it peaked—no surprise here—in December
2016, after years of neglect by the former government, a government that
ignored the issue of methamphetamine in the community. Since then we have put
enormous resources into it. In addition to the additional officers and the $126
million that has gone into policing and disrupting the supply of
methamphetamine into this state, we have also equipped police with the tools
that they need to do the job. We have X-ray screening that we can deploy to the
regions. We have specialist, what we call ''meth trucks'' that we
are also deploying in the regions; we are disrupting those transit routes. We
are also X-raying at parcel post centres and the like to disrupt the supply. In
the last three years alone, police have intercepted some 2 000 kilos of
methamphetamine in Western Australia. That is a record. We know that side by
side with police intercepting more than 2 000 kilos of methamphetamine, the
rate of consumption in the community has gone down. From that high in 2016, it
has gone down by 25 per cent. That is very significant. Does it mean the job is
done? No it does not. We will continue to invest in that resource. We will
continue to target those people who traffic methamphetamine. People may
remember that one of the first actions of the McGowan government was to signal
life imprisonment for those people who traffic methamphetamine. That was a significant
message to those people who might
traffic meth in our community. Unlike those opposite, I say well done to the Western
Australia Police Force. I am thankful that our government has given us the
resources we need to tackle those people who deal in death in our community,
who wreck lives and families. I also commend our government for putting in
place rehabilitation and support facilities and targeting the demand area for
methamphetamine as well. These are very promising results. We will not rest on
our laurels though. This is an ongoing fight against this scourge in our
community.
thank the member for Mount Lawley for that excellent question and for raising
such an important issue in this house. I think everyone here knows what a terrible
scourge methamphetamine is on our community and how it wrecks lives and
families. That is why our government embarked on a methamphetamine action plan
and invested the best part of $250 million additional money to target
methamphetamine. Over half of that money has gone to the WA Police Force and we
have engaged 100 additional sworn officers and 20 other staff to tackle it. The
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has been monitoring wastewater
sites right around Australia for some years now. It does that roughly every
four months, in April, August and December of each year. I am very pleased to
say that results released today from the testing in August 2019 indicate a significant
decline on April. The last two sets of results have shown quite dramatic declines. In fact, for the metro area, we have
seen a decline of some 19 per cent between April and August 2019, and in
regional areas a decline of 10 per cent. This is very useful information for
people right around Australia, to see how we are tracking what drugs are being
used in the community and what proportions they are being used in.
When
I looked back to the peak of meth consumption, I saw that, according to the
wastewater results, it peaked—no surprise here—in December
2016, after years of neglect by the former government, a government that
ignored the issue of methamphetamine in the community. Since then we have put
enormous resources into it. In addition to the additional officers and the $126
million that has gone into policing and disrupting the supply of
methamphetamine into this state, we have also equipped police with the tools
that they need to do the job. We have X-ray screening that we can deploy to the
regions. We have specialist, what we call ''meth trucks'' that we
are also deploying in the regions; we are disrupting those transit routes. We
are also X-raying at parcel post centres and the like to disrupt the supply. In
the last three years alone, police have intercepted some 2 000 kilos of
methamphetamine in Western Australia. That is a record. We know that side by
side with police intercepting more than 2 000 kilos of methamphetamine, the
rate of consumption in the community has gone down. From that high in 2016, it
has gone down by 25 per cent. That is very significant. Does it mean the job is
done? No it does not. We will continue to invest in that resource. We will
continue to target those people who traffic methamphetamine. People may
remember that one of the first actions of the McGowan government was to signal
life imprisonment for those people who traffic methamphetamine. That was a significant
message to those people who might
traffic meth in our community. Unlike those opposite, I say well done to the Western
Australia Police Force. I am thankful that our government has given us the
resources we need to tackle those people who deal in death in our community,
who wreck lives and families. I also commend our government for putting in
place rehabilitation and support facilities and targeting the demand area for
methamphetamine as well. These are very promising results. We will not rest on
our laurels though. This is an ongoing fight against this scourge in our
community.
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