By leave: It is important to note on the record and through our conversations in our communities, whether it is out at night or having a barbecue at home and chatting with friends, that drink spiking is a dangerous and increasingly common phenomenon in New South Wales, and that we are seeking to change that. Since the end of the COVID lockdown, as has been stated already in this place, reports of drink spiking and associated assaults have been on the rise. It is difficult to say whether those reports are due to an increase in reporting or an increase in incidents, but something has to be done.

The New South Wales-based organisation Full Stop Australia highlights that it is estimated that there are 3,000 to 4,000 occurrences of drink spiking per year in Australia; however, it is grossly under-reported. Data highlights that less than one-sixth of cases are reported to the police. I acknowledge the fantastic people from What Were You Wearing? Australia and all of the fantastic petitioners who have introduced this fantastic initiative of awareness-raising. They have aimed to collaborate with communities and with local nightclubs and venues to prevent drink spiking. They are calling for the implementation of mandatory drink spiking and sexual violence prevention training for security and bar staff at nightclubs and that, within that comprehensive training, we look at identification, prevention and response to drink spiking incidents. I thank them for bringing this petition to this place. I encourage them to keep having those conversations in the community with everyone they know.

It has already been noted that the dangers of spiking are extensive. It is important for members to continue to speak about this not just here but when they return to their electorates and talk to their friends, colleagues and families. People must look for the warning signs, which include feeling dizzy, faint, ill or sleepy, even if a person has only consumed a small amount of alcohol. I remember a young woman telling me that it is not just drugs in the alcohol but a whole range of additives that have caused alarm. I will share a personal story because the petitioners have encouraged people to share personal stories because they are powerful. A young woman stopped me on the street not long after I was elected and told me that she and a group of her friends had moved from a nightclub to someone's home to continue partying. She had consumed something that made her feel unwell. She came out of a room and wobbled her way down the stairs and was stopped in utter terror as she looked down the bottom of the stairs at a friend of hers, who was catatonic and surrounded by a group of young men. She said through her tears that to this day she still feels the guilt of not being able to move or scream or shout out on behalf of her friend, but she watched a situation unfold.

It is an important message for young people that when you see something, when you hear something, when you suspect something, speak out. It is on not the victims to do that but on those who are around them and care about change in legislation. A young man came out of the kitchen and saw this young woman there and said to the men, who were discussing who was going to ''go her first", "I don't think you are welcome here, and I don't think she can say yes, so get out." They said, "You're going to fight all of us, are you?" This young man said, "Yeah, I will". They said, "Is this your girlfriend?" He said, "I don't know who it is, but she can't say yes. You've done something to her drinks. I know it, and you can get out". That young woman thanked me and said, "You have raised good men. He was your son."