Labor MP Helen Polley says ACT decriminalisation needs to be matched with more funding

Federal Labor MP Helen Polley has sounded the alarm over the ACT’s decriminalisation of illicit substances, breaking with the party that has refused to criticise the territory’s move.

Senator Helen Polley has sounded the alarm over the ACT’s decriminalisation of ice, cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Federal Labor senator Helen Polley has sounded the alarm over the ACT’s decriminalisation of ice, cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances, breaking with other Albanese government MPs who have refused to criticise the territory’s move to soften drug laws.

Canberra will become the first city in Australia to decriminalise small portions of hard drugs at the end of October in a bid to divert people away from the justice system.

The policy has been welcomed by advocates, who say problem drug users should be met with a health response rather than a police response, but met with concern from police, Border Force and pharmacy groups over its inconsistency with laws in other jurisdictions, tension with federal legislation and a potential to encourage drug use.

Senator Polley, who heads up the Senate committee into law enforcement, said she was unconvinced the ACT had invested the resources needed to bolster the health system and police force to prepare for such a change.

“If you decriminalise hard drugs, more money is needed for the health system, police and pill testing,” she said.

“There’s a view there won’t be adequate policing; really, every jurisdiction doesn’t have enough, yet the ACT is taking this step to decriminalise.”

Senator Polley said while she had originally been apprehensive about the practise of pill testing, which was recently brought into the ACT, she had “moved” on the policy and now supported it.

ACT federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher last month backed the Territory’s right to decriminalise illicit substances, and slammed Peter Dutton for his attempt to overturn the new laws in federal parliament out of concern they would make Canberra a “boom market” for drug dealers and organised crime.

Senator Gallagher and other Labor MPs would not be drawn on their view of decriminalising drugs, maintaining such matters were for state and territory ­governments.

In hearings held by the law enforcement committee in September, ABF officials confirmed their commissioner, Michael Outram, would meet with his Portuguese counterparts to discuss the impacts of drug decriminalisation.

ABF commissioner Michael Outram. Picture: Julian Andrews

Portugal decriminalised illicit substances in 2001 and while drug use initially fell, the rate of drug abuse and overdose has increased again in recent years. Overdose rates have now hit a 12-year high and almost doubled in Lisbon between 2019 and 2023, according to local reports.

Senator Polley said Portugal was frequently pointed to as “the panacea” when it came to decriminalisation, but the Australian legal and health systems were “totally different”.

A spokeswoman for the ACT government said the Territory was well prepared for decriminalising drugs, with its alcohol, tobacco and other drug sector ranking second in the country for episodes of care per capita according to recent national data.

“The 2023-24 budget builds on the significant investments made in last year’s budget and every budget since 2019-20, including the largest capital investment the ACT government has made in residential alcohol and other drug rehabilitation ser­vices,” she said.

“Annual spending on alcohol and other drug services has increased from $20m in 2018-19 to more than $26m in 2023-24, (which is a) 30 per cent growth.”

The ACT 2023-24 budget included $1.1m over four years to implement drug de­crim­inal­isation, including extra resources for diversion services and ACT Policing and $1.2m to continue pill testing until December 2024.