It’s no secret the presence and availability of illicit drugs, in particular crystal methamphetamine – or ice as it is commonly known – is growing across regional NSW every day.

Evidence of the proliferation of ice is now supported by Commissioner Fuller revealing identified drug labs have risen 50 per cent over the past year, and police data showed the demand for ice is increasing.

Premier Berejiklian acknowledged this is a massive issue and is of a growing concern, but rather than act in a quick, decisive manner she has instead initiated an inquiry – that’s despite several inquiries already having been done on this issue.

The Special Commission of Inquiry will inquire into and report on the nature, prevalence and impact of ice; the adequacy of existing measures to tackle ice; and options to strengthen NSW’s response to the drug problem.

The government is simply investing money and time into paper shuffling.

The answer is simple: respond to my ongoing calls to significantly boost the number of police and resources to target the manufacture and supply of ice with severe prejudice.

Every day spent sitting around a conference table is another day wasted, along with the many lives suffering in the meantime.

I won’t stay silent on this issue until the government acts to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community.

AFTER voting down Labor’s Workers Compensation (Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights to Compensation) the government wasted valuable parliamentary time to then introduce a virtual copy of the bill to claim as their own, titled Workers Compensation Amendment (Firefighters) Bill 2018.

At the end of the day I don’t care which political party introduces a bill, because if it’s beneficial legislation then I will support it.

I always have and always will support the brave men and women of all our professional and volunteer emergency services.

Having been a police officer for more than 20 years I saw firsthand the dangers emergency services personnel faced as they routinely ran towards danger, risking their own lives to save others.

It is now acknowledged, finally and rightfully so, that firefighters are often exposed to a hazardous environment in which contact with dangerous carcinogens are more likely to lead to certain types of cancer.

These bills were developed to recognise certain cancers attributable to firefighters’ exposure in the line of duty, and establish their presumptive rights to workers compensation, however there is a concerning omission in the government’s bill.

Omitted are protections for those firefighters who have already been diagnosed with the specified cancers prior to the introduction of the new legislation.

Though the government will not admit this, the omission is just to save them a few million dollars in treatment and compensation to those unfortunate firefighters.

I believe our brave firefighters deserve these protections, irrespective of the date of their diagnosis.

I and my colleagues support amendments to this bill so that pre-diagnosed cancers will be included in the legislation.