The Greens and the dodgy drug-driving laws

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First a disclaimer: I believe the Greens are a progressive force in Australian politics.

Which makes me shocked and saddened to learn that the Greens supported the Road Transport Drug Testing Bill that gave birth to saliva testing for cannabis when it was introduced in NSW Parliament in 2006.

This bill was dodgy from the start.

Labor’s Eric Roozendaal, Minister for Roads who introduced the bill, is quoted in Hansard (see below): ‘There will be no need for police to prove that a person’s driving was impaired. It need only be proved that the drug was present in the person’s sample.’

Eric is clear: he’s not testing for driver impairment, which is what he should be as minister for roads to make the roads safe; he’s just testing for the presence of the drug.

In her reply, the Greens’ Lee Rihanon said: ‘In relation to cannabis use, screening devices have...

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