Two grams of heroin is still heroin to Australia’s top policeman, who isn’t having a bar of the ACT’s progressive drug reform plans. It’s “Seven Days” with IAN MEIKLE.

A DULL week, where the highlight was an overdue haircut, was suddenly electrified by Australia’s most senior police officer coming out swinging at the proposal to remove criminal penalties in the ACT for possession of small amounts of seriously illicit drugs.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw told a hearing of a Senate legal and constitutional affairs committee that the liberalising of drug laws in Canberra could lead to “narco-tourism”.

To some progressives around this town “narco-tourism” might sound like one of our nation-leading initiatives, but not to top plod. He spared the subtlety, saying: “It’s going to mean that organised crime will want to target this community in particular, because they can move their product quite easily.

“It just makes it more difficult for us to combat the rise of cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin use, and they’re not recreational drugs.”

Which doubtless made unhappy reading for Labor MLA Michael Pettersson, who is cosily shepherding a private member’s Bill that, while keeping the personal use of heroin, ice and methamphetamines as criminal, reduces the prospect of prison for anyone caught with two grams or less to a $100 fine.

The commissioner’s comment had former Liberal MLA and minister Bill Stefaniak getting personal and pleading that the Assembly not effectively “decriminalise” these drugs.

“My son died because of the actions of a woman high on ice,” he said, referring to the death of Jozef Stefaniak, 24, killed when Angela Lea Smith, 34, rolled and crashed a car on Yarra Glen, Hughes, on January 2, 2018.

“This Bill, if passed in its current form, will only lead to more needless, innocent deaths. 

“The commissioner is one of the most senior police officers in Australia. He knows what he is talking about. Police have to deal with this every day of the week. Assembly members in their little ivory towers do not.”

Which got ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja out of his big one, warning that the prospect of softer laws in the ACT would make Canberra a “magnet” for drug gangs if the law was softer in the ACT than elsewhere.

“It’s obvious. The market response if the laws are softer here than in other places is that the bikie gangs will potentially grow,” he said. 

It’s a solid point given we all know how bewilderingly soft the ACT government has been on bikie gangs. 

So is the Assembly listening? The final form of Mr Pettersson’s proposals are awaiting the determination of an Assembly committee and are expected to come before the full Assembly by year’s end. Looks like the New Year fireworks will be back.

“CITYNEWS” readers met Garry Malhotra when he appeared on the cover on October 7, “desperately” seeking donations of food and money to meet a “huge” demand for his covid food relief service.

The 33-year-old family man told reporter Belinda Strahorn that he’d used $60,000 of his own money since launching his meals and hamper service “Gary Malhotra – Ken Behrens Helping Hands” at the start of Canberra’s latest covid lockdown.

Since August, Mr Malhotra, members of his extended family and about 10 volunteers have cooked and delivered more than 150,000 free meals from a commercial training kitchen in Narrabundah to those needing support during lockdown. But while lockdown’s gone, demand for his help hasn’t. 

Mr Malhotra – who is the CEO of course provider AIM Health and Sciences – said it costs $5000 a day to run the service.

“We use about 200 kilograms of rice, 150 kilograms of pasta, 150 kilograms of chicken and 100 kilograms of vegetables a day,” he said. 

“I’d like to continue this after the pandemic. We’d like to become a charity and offer meals on the weekends to the homeless or the needy from the training facility at Narrabundah.”

Garry’s efforts have inspired the 2CA breakfast team – Holmsey and Jen – to do a live broadcast from the kitchen on Friday, November 5, to encourage listeners and businesses to drop in and drop off food. Garry says his kitchen needs food rather than donations of cash.

So they’re hosting a barbecue breakfast (donated by The Butcher Shop and La Sable Patisserie) for listeners to pop past and grab a bite to eat on their way to work in exchange for donations of pasta, rice,  vegetables and tinned tomatoes. It’s at AIM Institute of Health and Sciences, 61 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah from 5.30am. 

HERE’S something that made me SMH: “Millennials and Gen Z are continually evolving, implementing ways to shorten the words they use while texting or crafting their social media posts, which has led to text-message abbreviations and internet acronyms bombarding our chat rooms and social-media feeds.”

There followed a list of 100 most Googled text abbreviations in the world. “SMH” (shake my head) was top with 900,000 average monthly searches. 

Because they were news to me, I tested them on a Millennial, who had a near perfect response. Beyond the head shakers, the next 10 are: LMAO (Laughing my a** off), TBH (to be honest); LOL (laughing out loud), HMU (hit me up), FOMO (fear of missing out); NGL (not gonna lie), DM (direct message); AFK (away from keyboard); BAE (before anyone else) and this doozy: GOAT (greatest of all time). CYA.

Ian Meikle is the editor of “CityNews” and can be heard on the “CityNews Sunday Roast” news and interview program, 2CC, 9am-noon.