The Sauce: Labor may need to navigate Greens drug policies in a minority government
The Greens have released their official NSW election policies and believe the decriminalisation of most drugs is the only way to go and the stance could pose a problem for Labor. Don’t miss The Sauce.
NSW
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A “weekend joint with mates” or taking MDMA or cocaine to “dance or talk the night away with friends” is so commonplace that drug decriminalisation instead of prohibition is the only way forward, according to the NSW Greens.
The “booming” use of medicinal cannabis had also made driving laws out-of-date, with motorists still at risk of being charged and losing their licence if found with THC in their system while behind the wheel. To address the problem, the Greens want there to be a legal defence for medicinal cannabis users who drive but are not legally impaired.
These are some of the official March state election policies Labor may have to navigate in the event it fails to win a majority and needs to negotiate with the Greens to govern.
The Greens have long advocated drug decriminalisation – Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann once drew scorn from Health Minister Brad Hazzard after she admitted to having taken ecstasy or MDMA occasionally since her 20s. Hazzard described her admissions as “reckless at best”. Faehrmann countered by saying politicians had to “get real”.
In arguing for the legalisation of cannabis, the Greens want households of up to two people to be allowed to grow up to six plants, and 12 for larger households.
“Despite more than 50 years of governments waging a war against certain drugs, almost one in two of us have taken a drug that isn’t legal,” the Greens’ policy declares.
“Whether it’s smoking a joint on the weekend with mates or taking MDMA or cocaine to dance or talk the night away with friends, we need to acknowledge that drug use is commonplace in our society.”
The Greens do appear to draw the line at ice, which they describe as “incredibly harmful and addictive”.
Drug decriminalisation is just one of the key Greens’ policy. The original conservation party also wants just under one-third of the state’s land and waterways to form part of the protected network by 2030. Other policies include giving all NSW teachers “an immediate 15 per cent pay rise”, make TAFE free for all, scrapping all public transport fares and requiring developers to provide bigger backyards.
What’s not to like.
Minister DIARIES
After singing the praises of the Michaela Community School – dubbed Britain’s strictest school – it is no surprise Premier Dominic Perrottet made room in his diary to meet its representatives.
The northwest London education facility has become renowned for its tough approach to discipline, where mobile phones are banned and students can get detention for simply slouching or forgetting a pen.
In a speech to the James Martin Institute last year, Mr Perrottet said the Wembley school was the type that NSW should seek to emulate. That is, an approach to education focused on good behaviour, respect and greater parental involvement.
Two months after making the speech, the latest published NSW Ministerial Diaries reveal the Premier met with the school’s representatives – although curiously without Education Minister Sarah Mitchell. The Sauce will be interested to see if the Coalition’s education policy for the election incorporates some of the Michaela Community School’s principles.
Mr Perrottet also met with ex-Snowy Hydro boss Paul Broad. The diary shows the pair met on November 9 to discuss “energy policy” – but was it really a job interview? Two days later Perrottet announced he had hired Broad to work for 20 days as an adviser. And his contract – obtained by The Sauce – reveals a November 10 start date, a day after the meeting.
As for other ministers, the diaries show the Perrottet’s government’s resident “fixer” – Western Sydney Minister David Elliott – met with Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 19. The mixed martial arts, cage fighting competition had been seeking seed funding and access to stadiums to bring its fights to NSW.
In the end, Labor leader Chris Minns seized the opportunity to cement critically-needed votes in the party’s Western Sydney heartland, pledging to spend $16m from Destination NSW’s newly created Significant Event Fund to bring the fights to NSW.
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