MORE than a decade after it hit Tasmania’s shores, the drug known as ice will be the target of a national taskforce, promising to combat its ‘‘scourge’’. In announcing the taskforce yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to tackle the problem through the prism of health and education, and not law enforcement alone. This approach was echoed by the taskforce’s new boss, former Victoria Police chief commissioner Ken Lay, who said 10 years of law and order responses had not worked. It’s a similar story here. Despite a strong focus by Tasmania Police leading to large seizures, crystallised methamphetamine keeps arriving. So far this year there have been more seizures of methamphetamine than during the same period in 2014. And that year saw a fivefold increase in seizures compared with 2013. According to the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, the number of Tasmanians using methamphetamine sometime in the past year was steady at about 3 per cent. But among those users the amount switching from powder to the more potent crystallised form doubled. In that same year the frequency of use increased to an average of once a week, according to the Illicit Drug Reporting System. The taskforce’s first job is to assess what resources the states and territories are throwing at the problem. This has prompted Labor and the Greens to attack the state government for what they claim is a ‘‘do-little approach’’. ‘‘Despite the significant lack of treatment facilities for ice users and woefully inadequate approach to early intervention and prevention in Tasmania, the Health Minister [Michael Ferguson] has repeatedly downplayed the significance of the unfolding social crisis in Tasmania,’’ Greens health spokeswoman Cassy O’Connor said. But Mr Ferguson blamed the previous government’s financial management as a reason why more ice rehab beds couldn’t be funded. State Growth Minister Matthew Groom said the government had been in talks with other jurisdictions on how the address the issue. ‘‘We’ve been having ongoing discussions with the Commonwealth in relation to how we can work together along with the other states in order to address this issue, and we’ll continue to do that,’’ he said. Bass Liberal MHR Andrew Nikolic said the creation of a National Ice Action Strategy would help tackle a ‘‘growing link between ice and crime in Launceston’’. ‘‘Ice has devastating effects on our community – it is linked to family violence and increases in crime, and it places an immense amount of pressure on our emergency service providers,’’ he said.
MORE than a decade after it hit Tasmania’s shores, the drug known as ice will be the target of a national taskforce, promising to combat its ‘‘scourge’’.
In announcing the taskforce yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged to tackle the problem through the prism of health and education, and not law enforcement alone.
This approach was echoed by the taskforce’s new boss, former Victoria Police chief commissioner Ken Lay, who said 10 years of law and order responses had not worked.
It’s a similar story here.
Despite a strong focus by Tasmania Police leading to large seizures, crystallised methamphetamine keeps arriving.
So far this year there have been more seizures of methamphetamine than during the same period in 2014.
And that year saw a fivefold increase in seizures compared with 2013.
According to the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, the number of Tasmanians using methamphetamine sometime in the past year was steady at about 3 per cent.
But among those users the amount switching from powder to the more potent crystallised form doubled.
In that same year the frequency of use increased to an average of once a week, according to the Illicit Drug Reporting System.
The taskforce’s first job is to assess what resources the states and territories are throwing at the problem.
This has prompted Labor and the Greens to attack the state government for what they claim is a ‘‘do-little approach’’.
‘‘Despite the significant lack of treatment facilities for ice users and woefully inadequate approach to early intervention and prevention in Tasmania, the Health Minister [Michael Ferguson] has repeatedly downplayed the significance of the unfolding social crisis in Tasmania,’’ Greens health spokeswoman Cassy O’Connor said.
But Mr Ferguson blamed the previous government’s financial management as a reason why more ice rehab beds couldn’t be funded.
State Growth Minister Matthew Groom said the government had been in talks with other jurisdictions on how the address the issue.
‘‘We’ve been having ongoing discussions with the Commonwealth in relation to how we can work together along with the other states in order to address this issue, and we’ll continue to do that,’’ he said.
Bass Liberal MHR Andrew Nikolic said the creation of a National Ice Action Strategy would help tackle a ‘‘growing link between ice and crime in Launceston’’.
‘‘Ice has devastating effects on our community – it is linked to family violence and increases in crime, and it places an immense amount of pressure on our emergency service providers,’’ he said.
