Parties row over ice

Ex-addict calls for compassionate approach to issue

LOCKING up drug users does not work, and there is little point playing politics when it comes to crystal methamphetamine, a former Geelong ice addict says.

The Opposition has launched an attack on the State Government’s ice action plan, calling the approach “a $184 million dud”.

National Party MP and shadow mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said lives were being ruined across Victoria because of the Government’s approach.

The plan was launched in 2015 as a multi-pronged effort including rehab funding, new police drug and alcohol buses, an ice helpline and harsher laws for dealers and makers.

“Daniel Andrews’s ice action plan is a $184 million dud,” Ms Kealy said.

“Lots of money is being spent but it’s not making a dent in the numbers of people and their families being destroyed by this insidious drug.”

Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said the previous government had “failed to act” on the ice scourge, while this Government was tackling “the whole issue”.

“No other government has invested more in ice, to support all Victorians when it comes to ice — recognising you can’t arrest your way out of this problem,” Mr Foley said.

Former Geelong ice addict Peter, who requested his identity be protected due to the “stigma” of former ice users trying to find work, has been clean for more than 11 months.

“I’m not a bad person, but the drugs made me do a lot of bad things, I did a lot of crime,” Peter said.

“I could see the damage I was doing to myself, but I just didn’t care ... I’m really ashamed of the things that I’ve done, the people I’ve hurt.”

The 28-year-old former plumber said users “need a kick up the a---”, but harsher penalties or longer sentences were not the answer.

“It doesn’t matter who’s in power — they’re not the ones selling it,” Peter said. “Locking people up is not a viable solution, that’s just making the problem tenfold worse ... it needs to be about compassion.”

Drug crime in the Greater Geelong region has increased year-on-year over the course of the past two governments.

According to the Crime Statistics Agency, the number of drug offences in Geelong has risen 49 per cent since the Government came to power, compared with a 35.18 per cent increase from 2012-14 in the Liberal-led governments.