❓ Question regarding methamphetamine seizures by WA Police Force, comparing current efforts to the previous Liberal-National government and assessing the effectiveness of the McGowan Labor government's meth action plan. The Minister provides data on seizures and highlights the government's initiatives.
AnsweredQoN 527Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
POLICE — METHAMPHETAMINE SEIZURES
527. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for
Police:
Firstly, on behalf
of the member for Kalamunda, I welcome the year 10 students of Mundaring
Christian College and Mr David Elsing to the Speaker's gallery.
I refer to the
recent seizure by the WA Police Force of 33 kilograms of methamphetamine.
(1)
Can the minister update the house on how much crystal meth has been seized by
the WA Police Force since July last year?
(2) Can the minister outline how this compares
to enforcement during the last full year of the Liberal–National government?
(3)
Can the minister update the house on how effective the McGowan Labor government's
meth action plan has been to date?
527. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Minister for
Police:
Firstly, on behalf
of the member for Kalamunda, I welcome the year 10 students of Mundaring
Christian College and Mr David Elsing to the Speaker's gallery.
I refer to the
recent seizure by the WA Police Force of 33 kilograms of methamphetamine.
(1)
Can the minister update the house on how much crystal meth has been seized by
the WA Police Force since July last year?
(2) Can the minister outline how this compares
to enforcement during the last full year of the Liberal–National government?
(3)
Can the minister update the house on how effective the McGowan Labor government's
meth action plan has been to date?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for Belmont for the question and for her strong interest in community safety.
She, like many people, knows that methamphetamine is a significant driver of
crime in our community. People on meth not only destroy their and their family's
lives, but also commit crime whilst on meth. It makes some people commit
assaults and behave in a way that they would not if they were not under the
influence of methamphetamine. Dealing with the amount of methamphetamine in our
community is very important for community safety outcomes. If we can drive down
the amount of meth used in the Western Australian community, we can help drive
down crime.
(1)–(3) Since
July 2017, some 1.437 tonnes of crystal meth, including a recent seizure of
nearly 1.5 kilograms in Northam on 5 July this year, has been seized in the
last financial year. That 1.437 tonnes equates to millions of doses of meth
that are not in the community. At a rough calculation, I am told it is about 48
million doses of meth that police have prevented from going into the community.
Unfortunately, under the former government, though—the member is quite
right—it is a problem it ignored. We went into a state of almost crisis
and yet the previous government ignored it. By late 2016, it was evident from
wastewater research that methamphetamine use had grown to almost epidemic
levels; yet, still, the former government failed to do anything. In the last
full year of the former government, 2015–16, only 702 kilograms of meth
was seized. In 2013–14, it was 127 kilograms; in 2014–15, it
was just 276 kilograms. In the last three years of the Liberal government, far
less meth was taken off the street than we have in the last 15 months. That is
why, when we were in opposition, we committed to a methamphetamine action plan.
We saw this was an issue in the community that was not only destroying
families, but also driving crime in the community. We needed to have a comprehensive
meth action plan. As Minister for Police in the McGowan government I have been
very keen to support police on the enforcement side of the methamphetamine
issue. The McGowan government committed to 100 additional police officers for
the meth action team and also 20 additional other officers to support our meth
border task force.
In the last year alone we have
stopped over 7 000 vehicles, and drugs and about $300 000 of cash has been
seized from those vehicles. We also put into place a meth truck last year,
which has the capacity to X-ray on major transit routes, which it has been
doing, and also in mail and parcel delivery centres where we have also deployed
that truck. That meth truck has equipment on it that is very similar to the X-ray
equipment at airports. That has been very, very effective.
Dealing with the methamphetamine
scourge in our community is a priority for the McGowan government. That is why
we have a comprehensive meth action plan and that is why police are out there
enforcing the methamphetamine action plan every day of the week, every week of
the year. We are doing that with our meth truck and with our teams of officers,
including the additional resources that the McGowan government has given the Western
Australian Police Force to fight the methamphetamine scourge in our community.
for Belmont for the question and for her strong interest in community safety.
She, like many people, knows that methamphetamine is a significant driver of
crime in our community. People on meth not only destroy their and their family's
lives, but also commit crime whilst on meth. It makes some people commit
assaults and behave in a way that they would not if they were not under the
influence of methamphetamine. Dealing with the amount of methamphetamine in our
community is very important for community safety outcomes. If we can drive down
the amount of meth used in the Western Australian community, we can help drive
down crime.
(1)–(3) Since
July 2017, some 1.437 tonnes of crystal meth, including a recent seizure of
nearly 1.5 kilograms in Northam on 5 July this year, has been seized in the
last financial year. That 1.437 tonnes equates to millions of doses of meth
that are not in the community. At a rough calculation, I am told it is about 48
million doses of meth that police have prevented from going into the community.
Unfortunately, under the former government, though—the member is quite
right—it is a problem it ignored. We went into a state of almost crisis
and yet the previous government ignored it. By late 2016, it was evident from
wastewater research that methamphetamine use had grown to almost epidemic
levels; yet, still, the former government failed to do anything. In the last
full year of the former government, 2015–16, only 702 kilograms of meth
was seized. In 2013–14, it was 127 kilograms; in 2014–15, it
was just 276 kilograms. In the last three years of the Liberal government, far
less meth was taken off the street than we have in the last 15 months. That is
why, when we were in opposition, we committed to a methamphetamine action plan.
We saw this was an issue in the community that was not only destroying
families, but also driving crime in the community. We needed to have a comprehensive
meth action plan. As Minister for Police in the McGowan government I have been
very keen to support police on the enforcement side of the methamphetamine
issue. The McGowan government committed to 100 additional police officers for
the meth action team and also 20 additional other officers to support our meth
border task force.
In the last year alone we have
stopped over 7 000 vehicles, and drugs and about $300 000 of cash has been
seized from those vehicles. We also put into place a meth truck last year,
which has the capacity to X-ray on major transit routes, which it has been
doing, and also in mail and parcel delivery centres where we have also deployed
that truck. That meth truck has equipment on it that is very similar to the X-ray
equipment at airports. That has been very, very effective.
Dealing with the methamphetamine
scourge in our community is a priority for the McGowan government. That is why
we have a comprehensive meth action plan and that is why police are out there
enforcing the methamphetamine action plan every day of the week, every week of
the year. We are doing that with our meth truck and with our teams of officers,
including the additional resources that the McGowan government has given the Western
Australian Police Force to fight the methamphetamine scourge in our community.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.