This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 202.174.33.18 (talk) at 03:11, 10 March 2007. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 03:11, 10 March 2007 by 202.174.33.18 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Christopher Maurice Pyne (born 13 August, 1967), Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia. He is the Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing and has a strong stance against illicit drugs.
He was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and was educated at the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.
He was a solicitor, a research assistant to Senator Amanda Vanstone and President of the South Australian Young Liberals (1998-1990) before entering Parliament. He is a member of the moderate faction in the South Australian wing of the party.
War on Drugs
As the parliamentary secretary for health, Christopher is somewhat responsible for the launch of a Federal Liberal Government $12 million anti-illicit drug campaign in 2005. With him stating that "The message from these ads is you don't really know what's going into these drugs that you might be taking". This viewpoint is in agreement with that of Dr David Caldicott of the Royal Adelaide Hospital emergency department; "I've never heard a more ringing endorsement for pill testing in my life".
It is at this juncture where the Federal Liberal Government has been exposed in ignoring harm minimisation, particularly in light of other activities such as syringe exchanges and significant campaigns on the responsible use of alcohol.
He was responsible for additionally asking for the arrest of Enlighten members who offered a non-judgmental testing regime of illicit drugs (primarily ecstasy pills). The action exposes that Christopher would rather have people die than reduce the harm to them through pill testing.
Categories: