'Clear breach of Territory rights,' Federal Coalition fails to send ACT drug law bill to Senate inquiry

West Australian senator Michaelia Cash had been seeking to send the Australian Capital Territory government's Drugs of Dependence (Personal Use) Amendment Act 2022, a private senators' bill to the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs references committee for inquiry.

But in a different result to the recent Senate inquiry into a bill relating to the ACT government's forced takeover of the Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, the vote was lost in the Senate late on Tuesday.

The vote failed 27-to-34 with the Greens senators, Senator Pocock, Senator Jacqui Lambie and Senator Tammy Tyrrell siding with the government.

"If the Coalition is genuine about preventing alcohol and drug-related harms, and supporting people into treatment, then we need to look at the whole picture nationwide, not just single out the ACT for a political purpose," Senator Pocock said in statement.

"I would certainly support an inquiry looking at the challenges nationwide, but I can't support a narrow inquiry intended to politically undermine self-governance of our territory."

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UAP senator Ralph Babet and One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts voted with the Coalition, while independent senators Lidia Thorpe and David Van were not present for the vote.

"The Coalition has tried to refer the ACT drug laws to a Senate inquiry in a clear breach of Territory rights," Greens senator David Shoebridge said on X.

"The ACT drug laws are the result of expert consultation. It's deeply inappropriate for the Fed Coalition to perpetuate a 1950s war on drugs."

The Coalition introduced a bill last month to overturn the territory's government's new drug laws which will decriminalise the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs.

The laws that cover small amounts of common recreational drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy (MDMA), ice, heroin, LSD, and amphetamines were introduced after the last territory election as a harm reduction measure.

"Our nation's capital should not be the drug capital," Senator Cash, the shadow attorney-general, said last month in a statement when announcing the effort to overturn the laws.

"But the Prime Minister is doing nothing while the ACT Labor-Greens government has opened the door to dangerous drugs in Canberra."

The Canberra Times has sought comment from Senator Cash.

Queensland LNP senator Matt Canavan on Monday argued that the ACT laws required a "greater degree of oversight" from the commonwealth government.

He said criminals will seek to abuse the situation in the ACT and expand their "evil business models" and he was concerned for the Federal Police officers who would have to enforce the laws.

The laws are set to come into place on October 28.

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