Zealanders a consistent level of support in emergencies, no matter where or when they happen.
Question No. 11—Health
11. CHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green—Auckland Central) to the Minister of Health: Does he consider the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 supports the Government’s commitment to "minimising drug harm and to treating drugs as a health issue"?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Yes, it does support that objective. In the last term of Government, two changes were made to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 to better align it with a heath approach. Firstly, in 2018, the Act was amended to include a medicinal cannabis scheme; and secondly, it was amended in 2019, allowing for police discretion over prosecution for possession.
Chlöe Swarbrick: Does he agree with the recommendations of He Ara Oranga, the mental health and addiction inquiry, and Turiki! Turiki!, the safe and effective justice review, that we must remove criminal sanctions for a genuine, health-based approach to drugs?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I recall the recommendation from He Ara Oranga, it was that criminal responses that were then in the Misuse of Drugs Act should be replaced with more health-based approaches. That is the effect of the 2019 amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Chlöe Swarbrick: What actions has he asked officials to take in response to the recommendations of those reports to decriminalise drug use in order to implement that health-based approach?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Given that the changes in 2019 to the Misuse of Drugs Act do remove the kind of criminal response leaning of that Act to those who are found to be in possession of classified drugs, I’ve given no further instruction to health officials. We have a large work programme for health, as we speak at the moment, in both mental health and addiction, and in wider health reforms, and that remains our priority.
Hon Dr Nick Smith: Will the Government respect the outcome of the 2020 referendum and rule out any liberalisation of New Zealand cannabis laws?
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The Government has respected the outcome of the 2020 referendum on legalisation of cannabis.
CHLÖE SWARBRICK: Does he agree with the 69 percent of New Zealanders who, in a poll released today, believe that cannabis should no longer be criminalised?
[Interruption]
SPEAKER: Order! Order! Who interjected then? Well, someone over here interjected. Could the person who called out indicate who they were? I’ll go back and listen to the tape.
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I'm aware that polls on the issue of liberalisation of cannabis bounce around a bit. It was only two years ago that there were polls showing that the majority of voting New Zealanders were in favour of legalising cannabis. When it was put to 2.7 million voters, it came out with a different view. So I take those polls with a grain of salt.
Question No. 12—Housing
12. NICOLA WILLIS (National) to the Minister of Housing: Does she stand by her statement that "Motels are not a suitable environment for vulnerable individuals, families and whanau and they are also not cost effective"; if so, how many people is the Government funding to live in motels now compared to the last quarter of 2017?
Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): Yes, and that is why we have a programme to supply 6,641 transitional homes by 2024. In answer to the second part of
