DRUGS, POISONS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AMENDMENT (PROHIBITION OF DISPLAY AND SALE OF CANNABIS WATER PIPES) BILL 2011

I rise to support the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Prohibition of Display and Sale of Cannabis Water Pipes) Bill 2011. It is very interesting that from the debate so far it is obvious that the opposition's heart is certainly not in it. The opposition has run out of speakers; nobody else is standing up. We are here again to carry on and ensure that this important piece of legislation goes through.

We have already heard today outrageous claims from the opposition wanting measurable outcomes in the reduction of cannabis use arising from the sort of legislation that we are debating today, in particular the banning of the bong. Unfortunately members of the opposition would not know a measurable outcome if it hit them in the face. We have seen that on a number of different occasions, and I am sure we will continue to see it, certainly in this term of government.

This is a very important piece of legislation and is one of the key election commitments we gave. It is a continuation of the driving of the election policy that we are delivering in Victoria. It is an excellent example of the no-fuss, workman-like attitude of the Baillieu coalition Government. We have identified problems, and we are putting forward a legislative solution. This legislation has been a priority since the government was in opposition.

We have raised it a number of times, and it is a very important legislation, because if we are serious about reducing drug use and tackling this problem, we need a holistic approach. We need to ensure that we are actually taking away the tools, and that is what this legislation does: it takes away these very important tools that are prevalent, that are visible and that our young people are seeing every single day.

I make the analogy that it would be the equivalent of the government banning bullets but allowing the sale of guns. That is what allowing the continued sale of bongs would do. For a long time we have said that it is not acceptable to use illicit drugs such as marijuana and cannabis but that it is acceptable to sell bongs in highly visible retail outlets where our young people can walk past and see them every single day. That is what this is all about; it is about taking away the visible presence of these things so young people do not see them.

As part of the education process we want to ensure that young people are protected, and the only way we can protect them is by ensuring that we put in place strong legislation, as we are doing today by banning the bong.

I want to mention a comment made by the member for Dandenong. He said that the bong is part of Australia's culture. Now if we draw back -- and the member for Dandenong up until that point made a very good contribution -- I would like to point out that the member for Dandenong was at one point the Minister for Tourism. Now as Minister for Tourism, I am sure there were many times when he went to sell Victoria but I think even he -- and he would probably think himself a great performer -- would find it very difficult to sell a campaign slogan of Victoria, the place to be: beer, barbecues, thongs and bongs. That is just absolutely ridiculous, and that is the sort of rubbish that we are used to hearing from this opposition. It is the lack of seriousness and the lack of a cohesive approach that has put them on the other side and put us in government.

The member for Essendon suggested that this bill is trying to hide or cover up the problem of drug abuse. Obviously that shows a complete lack of understanding of the issue. It ignores that this bill is about closing a dangerous loophole that has allowed young people to see the normalisation of drug tools. We have heard already from members of the opposition calling on us after only eight months in government for a cohesive preventive strategy, a way for us to tackle the drug problem. I say they had 11 years to tackle the drug strategy, to formulate a cohesive preventive educational drug strategy and unfortunately they failed -- a big zero, an absolute fail.

If opposition members actually found out what we are doing as a government in terms of a cohesive strategy, they would realise that we are funding $188 million for improved prevention and treatment services to reduce the harm that alcohol and drugs cause. I repeat, $188 million in new funding to reduce the harm that drugs and alcohol cause.

If you look at prevention you will see we are tackling it through this four-part legislation which is taking away these dangerous tools by taking them out of retail outlets, taking them away from markets, taking them away from highly visible outlets and away from our young people. This forms part of the cohesive strategy we are putting forward to reduce drug use -- we are taking away these dangerous tools.

We know that even though they are reluctantly supporting it now, a number of times when in opposition we called on this to happen, the Labor Party shied away from it. In 2010 when the former Democratic Labor Party member, Peter Kavanagh, tried to introduce a private members bill in the upper house, it was supported by the coalition but defeated by the then Labor government and the Greens.

This is another prime example that shows the Labor Party is not serious when it comes to this legislation.

I want to draw the house's attention to some of the mental health implications of drug and cannabis use. A 2005 study found that regular heavy cannabis use was linked to residual deficits in cognitive functions. Another study in 2010 stated that regular cannabis use by adolescents may have negative effects on education outcomes, and it is also known to have caused a number of young people to drop out before completing school. This is why we need to do something about a drugs strategy. I want a cohesive drugs strategy, as many people on this side of the house and I am sure people on the opposite side of the house do as well, that particularly focuses on assisting our young people. We all talk about early intervention in this house and we have all mentioned early intervention on many different occasions, but if we are serious about early intervention, we have to make sure we take away dangerous tools like bongs.

This legislation brings Victoria in line with the other states. All other states have banned the bong. We are falling in line and doing the same. It has been a long time coming, but thankfully now we are in government we can ensure that it happens. We are sending an important message to our youth. We heard the member for Ferntree Gully giving a personal experience of visiting a market and seeing bongs lined up alongside toys. That is certainly not something I want my kids seeing at a market, and that is not something I want my kids seeing in a shop.

This is important.

It is really interesting that on a serious topic such as this we have laughter and silliness from opposition. When we debate the important, serious issues, we get silliness from the opposition. It is soft when it comes to crime. It was soft for the last 11 years, and it is not serious when it comes to this sort of approach. If the opposition members were at all serious, they would get behind this legislation. The government is giving the opposition the perfect opportunity to come in, get behind the legislation and support it. I appreciate that the opposition is supporting the legislation, although every speaker from the opposition benches who has risen to speak has done so very reluctantly in their contribution.

It certainly makes Hansard a very interesting read when you hear members saying things such as, 'Bongs are an institution and part of our everyday life'.

They are certainly not part of my everyday life, and they are certainly not part of many other Victorians' everyday lives. If we are serious as Victorians, we need to make sure these sorts of implements are banned. The government is doing that, and in doing so it is delivering on its election promises. It is ensuring that there is good, solid policy and good preventive measures for the people of Victoria so that we can all live in a safe environment.