I contribute to debate on the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023. I compliment the member for Campbelltown on his great contribution. I take the words of the learned Attorney General in a media statement on Wednesday 2 August 2023, where he said:
The Drug Misuse and Trafficking Amendment (Appointed Persons) Bill 2023 resolves a technical error identified by the NSW Police Force, the Department of Regional NSW and the Department of Communities and Justice to do with appointments of persons to give evidentiary certificates under s 43 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985.
He went on to say:
The Bill amends who can appoint suitably qualified people to issue evidentiary certificates in relation to the identity and quantity or mass of cannabis plant or cannabis leaf.
Schedule 1 [1] to the bill seeks to amend section 43 (5) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 to vest the appointment function under section 43 (5) of the DMT Act in the Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust or a person prescribed by the regulations. Through schedule 1 [6] we also seek to retrospectively validate appointments made under section 43 (5) of the DMT Act and evidentiary certificates given under section 43 of the Act prior to the passage of the bill. Finally, schedule 1 [2] to [5] to the bill are technical amendments to insert part headings into schedule 3 to the Act. Importantly, these amendments have been recommended by Parliamentary Counsel. People may ask why the bill is vesting the appointment function under section 43 (5) to the Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. We could surely move it as part of the machinery of government changes and just swap it over. The reason is we do not want to run into the same issue we did previously.
I will give a bit of history of how we found ourselves in this situation. Some changes to the machinery of government way back specifically impacted the Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development. Most importantly, in 2020 the Department of Regional NSW was created but changes were not made to enable an outdated reference to the Secretary of the Department Industry, Skills and Regional Development. It was the Secretary of the Department of Industry, Skills and Regional Development who was previously issuing those certificates under the Act. If we were to move that to the Department of Regional NSW, there might be other machinery of government changes and we could find ourselves back here again.
We know that this Government has come into power after 12 years in opposition and is making some significant machinery of government changes. Most notably, last week we split apart the Department of Planning and Environment, and no doubt some other departments that have been mentioned will be affected through future changes. We have decided to vest the power within the Executive Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust because the trust is responsible for delivering training in analysing cannabis, and the executive director role is less likely to be impacted by machinery of government changes. We can move around various departments and rename them here and there, but it is less likely that we will make any significant changes to the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. Of course, that is where the training occurs.
Training to botanically identify cannabis plants and leaf for the purposes of appointments under section 43 (5) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act is delivered by the National Herbarium of NSW, which is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. That is where it happens, so that is where the power should live. For those wondering, the National Herbarium of NSW has been delivering this training since 1988. That was a significant year in the history of this country because it was the bicentennial. Those who are fans of pub trivia would know-
Mr Clayton Barr: I thought it was your year of birth.
Mr NATHAN HAGARTY: No, I am a bit older than that. I am an eighties baby, but I will not give too much away at this point. One of the issues is the retrospectivity of the bill. Normally it is good governance to not introduce a bill that acts retrospectively, but there is an entirely valid and important reason as to why the bill needs to have some retrospectivity. That is because a failure to do so will mean that convictions for drug offences that rely on these certificates under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 could be open to challenge. The last thing we want is the hard work of our great NSW Police Force, police prosecutors and the courts to be wasted by having such offences challenged, effectively putting those who are now convicted drug dealers back on the streets through what is, in effect, a small technical issue with the bill. By making it retrospective, that issue is plugged and means that everyone who has been appointed to issue those certificates is also retrospectively covered by the bill.
I make the point that there has been extensive consultation with the relevant bodies and relevant people. As I just mentioned, the NSW Police Force, which has done mighty work over the past several years to convict people under those offences, has been consulted, as has the Department of Regional NSW, which was initially created through the machinery-of-government changes that brought us to this issue. The executive director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust is happy to take on this role at the point that the bill comes into effect. It is a sign that this Government is happy to back in our police and make sure that it does not unwittingly put people back out on the streets. I note that the bill has the support of the Opposition. We should get on with it, support the bill and congratulate the executive director on their new powers. I commend the bill to the House.
