Welfare teams to flush out drug users
AUSTRALIA: The Australian government plans to analyse sewage to track down welfare recipients who are using illicit drugs. They will then have their benefits cut.
The government said this week that it would begin random drug testing of welfare recipients and cut the amount given to any who tested positive. It has now said that it will identify high-use areas by drawing on data showing the presence of drugs in sewage.
The information will be used to decide where to introduce random drug testing, Scott Morrison, treasurer in the governing coalition, said. Some MPs said that the move was discriminatory and hypocritical and called for mandatory drug testing of parliamentarians.
Jacqui Lambie, independent senator for Tasmania, said that politicians and journalists needed to be subjected to the same tests. ‘‘If you think it’s drug-free [in Canberra] you’re kidding yourself,’’ she said. The capital’s residents are the nation’s third highest users of cocaine, according to its sewage.
Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, who admitted on television in 2008 that he had smoked marijuana as a young man, said that he would be happy to undergo a drug test.
Under the policy, young Australians who apply for welfare from next year will face random tests for cannabis, Ecstasy and methamphetamines. Anyone who tests positive for more than one drug will have a medical assessment and be given treatment options as part of their job plan.
If a jobseeker tests positive once, they will be subjected to further testing. Anyone who refuses a test will be penalised. The government said that the move was to prevent welfare payments being used to fund drug and alcohol addictions that stopped people finding jobs. People who tested positive were likely to be moved on to a welfare spending card that can be used to buy only a limited range of goods.
In March tests conducted on samples from Australia’s sewerage systems found that Sydney had the highest use of cocaine. Methamphetamine was more popular in Western Australia and inland towns.
The move is part of a broader crackdown that includes reduced benefits for applicants who miss job appointments. The government expects to save dollars 632 million over five years as a result.
- The Times