18th of March 2025, 1:13pm
Parliament of Victoria | Legislative Council
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
I would also like to just make a brief comment. Firstly, I would like to thank the other members of the committee for the very collegiate and professional way in which they approached the mission that was before the committee. I would also like to express deep appreciation to the secretariat, who performed incredibly well and incredibly professionally in meeting the challenges that were put before them in a very tight timeframe.
Every year in Victoria 9000 to 10,000 people fall foul of the laws relating to personal use and possession – nothing commercial; purely personal use and possession – and it was in this context that Legalise Cannabis Victoria moved the bill, which seeks to address decriminalisation of personal use and to allow for home growing, sharing and a number of other key issues. We drew heavily on the ACT legislation in doing that. We have now seen five years of that very similar ACT legislation, and we have seen that reviewed by the health department in the ACT through a very comprehensive process. What that has shown us is that that reform has been overwhelmingly positive.
The committee heard from a deputy commissioner of police in the ACT, who said that they had many concerns when this bill came in and, as he said, none have eventuated. Likewise, we met with the ACT health minister, and she was glowing in her praise for these changes. No adverse impacts have been seen in the ACT, but what has changed is that the number of people falling foul of the law has dropped by over 90 per cent.
The government is committed here in Victoria to strategically reforming the way in which the criminal code affects people, particularly young people, and this is a perfect example of how at no cost to the government – in fact at a saving to the government – real change can be made. We call on the government to implement these reforms, consistent with the committee’s recommendations. I endorse the report to the Council.
[Ends]
