NSW won’t follow ACT move to decriminalises drug
NSW won’t be following the ACT move to become the first state or territory to decriminalise the use of nearly every drug including heroin, meth, cocaine and LSD.
Police & Courts
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NSW Premier Chris Minns’ vow not to decriminalise illicit drugs until at least after the next election was a captain’s call that has taken his colleagues by surprise.
Mr Minns today ruled out decriminalisation, saying his government had “no plans” and “no mandate” to pursue a similar policy to the ACT, which was detailed by The Daily Telegraph.
Labor went to the election promising to hold a “drug summit” during its first term. But Mr Minns has now pre-empted that summit by taking decriminalisation off the table before the next election.
“We need to let the drug summit do its job (but) we don’t have a mandate to decriminalise,” he said.
“I couldn’t do that without the support of the people of the state of NSW.”
The pronouncement could put the Premier at odds with some members of his own party, in particular members of Labor’s left faction.
Mr Minns said decriminalising hard drugs in NSW would have “serious” consequences.
Multiple sources told The Daily Telegraph that Mr Minns had not discussed the issue with cabinet colleagues before declaring his position yesterday.
No date has been set down for the drug summit, but government sources expect it would not be held until closer to the next election.
As revealed by the Telegraph, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan fears that violence will increase when the ACT’s drug laws relax in late October.
Mr Minns would not comment on that warning, but said NSW Police would continue to “enforce the law in NSW”.
In 2020, a royal commission-style probe into crystal meth recommended that the NSW government decriminalise illicit drugs. After the so-called Ice Inquiry’s recommendations created a civil war among ministers in the former Coalition government, former premier Dominic Perrottet eventually announced he would pursue a “two strikes” policy for possession offences.
That would have allowed offenders to bypass court and attend health intervention programs instead. The Minns government has been criticised since the election for persisting with its plans for a drug summit, with critics declaring the move would just replicate the work of the $11m Ice Inquiry.
CANBERRA TO BECOME FANTASYLAND FOR PARTIES
Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Neil Gaughan - the ACT’s own chief police officer - said he expects there will be groups of revellers heading to Canberra when drug laws are relaxed on October 28, as well as opportunistic bikie gangs looking to make money.
“It would be naive not to think people won’t come down, even for a weekend, to get on the coke and not worry about the cops ... it’s a reality we can’t ignore,” Mr Gaughan said.
NSW senior police are also bracing for renewed conflicts on the streets of Sydney as new demand in the ACT puts the heat on supply lines coming from Sydney.
“There will be problems here without doubt,’’ said a senior NSW officer.
“We know the ACT police are worried about what is going to happen down there and so are we because it will have a big impact on us. It’s obvious there will be a new market for drugs and we know the suppliers are all mainly from Sydney and they will end up fighting for control.”
Mr Gaughan agrees the new legislation by the Labor-Greens government could lead to conflict between bikie gangs, increased drug use, a high road toll and long term mental health issues.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Rebels national run is to Canberra and coincides almost to the day with the introduction of the new laws,” Mr Gaughan said.
“There is no denying the OMCG’s (outlaw motorcycle gangs) know there is money to be made. There will be collateral damage if there’s conflict.
“At the moment Canberra is pretty much a one club town, which is the Comanchero, but we will see if that changes.”
The new legislation will decriminalise the possession of a small amount of nearly every drug except fentanyl, where those in possession are fined or directed to counselling and the drugs are confiscated.
“The big difference is if you are caught with coke or meth in Sydney you are charged with a criminal offence and have to go to court. Here you will get a $100 fine and if you pay, it goes away. You would expect many would just factor in that $100 as costs,” Mr Gaughan said.
“To be honest we just don’t know what is going to happen ... I think we can presume we are going to see an increase in drug use and to some extent we are creating a more permissive environment.
“We legalised cannabis in 2021 and there was a 20 per cent increase in usage so it’s safe to assume we are going to see an increase in other drug usage and Canberra already has a fairly strong use of coke per population.
“The nation will be watching us ... we are the first to go this far.”
Mr Gaughan said one of the main concerns was the relaxation of methamphetamine possession, more commonly known as ice.
“You will be allowed 1.5 grams, which is fifteen hits (which) cost about $1500 and not many users will have that money and that could see other crime problems.
“Meth is highly addictive ... so the worry is people will go on four or five day meth benders, go out and drive and kill someone.
“Last year we had 18 people die, a 300 per cent increase on the rolling average, and most of those people had meth or cannabis in their system.”
The ACT government has been caught boasting that it introduced the bill almost by stealth with health minister Rachael Stephen-Smith telling a Labour national conference they took the legislation to the election in 2020 “quietly’’ and got it through quicker using a private members bill.
“The vast majority of Canberrans don’t know this is happening ... It’s unbelievable really. I did a presentation about four months ago to the Australian Hoteliers Association at the Hyatt over concerns about cars being broken into. I said next time I will be talking about the decriminalisation of drugs ... honestly they looked at me bewildered and said ‘what are you talking about’.
“We are going to have to focus on the supply working with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, NSW Police and the federal arm of the AFP to make sure we have a good handle on who is doing what and who we think will potentially target Canberra.
“Let’s face it we know it will be (bikie) based, because we know they are the ones that do the majority of that midlevel dealing.”
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