Cannabis law reform
Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:45): The annual David Penington Oration honours David Penington AC, a courageous advocate for drug law reform. This year it was a particular privilege to see the oration delivered by none other than Tony Parsons. As a former magistrate of the Drug Court, Tony has seen firsthand how current laws fail our most vulnerable Victorians. Tony spoke about how all the way back in the late 1990s then Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett was supportive of decriminalising cannabis, setting up a drug advisory council headed up by David Penington to investigate how Victoria could better respond to illicit drug use. Almost 30 years ago the willpower was there, and it seemed like cannabis would be decriminalised until the Premier unfortunately was overruled by the party. At the time Victoria had the opportunity to become a world leader, and now we are not even a world follower. All around the world we are witnessing cannabis law reform. The evidence is well and truly there, and public support is at an all-time high. And with that I will end on the same note as my colleague David Ettershank with a final message from Tony’s oration for cannabis reform – ‘it’s time’.