Goff's drug-use denial 'typical for parents'

Labour leader Phil Goff's denial that his daughter has ever taken drugs is a typical reaction for parents faced with evidence of drug use by their children, says the Drug Foundation.

Police charged Sara Goff, 25, with possession of a prohibited drug after four tablets were found hidden in her bra as she entered a Sydney dance party on January 1 this year, the Sunday Star-Times reported yesterday.

Ms Goff, a policy analyst with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, was fined A$500 ($612) and ordered to pay A$76 court costs when her case was heard at Dowling Centre Local Court in Sydney.

She told police the pills were Ecstasy and she had intended "to consume them", according to court documents. She was convicted and fined at a hearing she did not attend.

However, on appeal, a judge found she had committed the offence but dismissed the case without recording a conviction.

Mr Goff, who as a Justice Minister in the Labour Government took a hard line on drugs, confirmed to the Sunday Star-Times that his daughter had been arrested but said she had "never taken drugs".

Drug Foundation director Ross Bell told the Herald that the Labour leader "sounded like any other parent in that situation".

"I'm not saying Phil Goff's denial is naive but we often see parents just not wanting to admit their kids are using drugs or are in trouble because of the stigma around it.

"Quite often parents would want to deny that their kids might be using ... A lot of the time parents are unwilling or unable to talk to their neighbours, friends and wider family about that drug use because of the stigma."

In contrast to the relatively open discussions about alcohol use, parents tended to be fearful when talking about drugs.

"We all get in denial or we all jump on our moral high horse," Mr Bell said.

Mr Goff did not comment yesterday.

A spokesman for MAF was unable to say yesterday whether the ministry had discussed the issue with Sara Goff.

"Anything in that regard would be an employment matter and as with all such matters it would be confidential to Sara Goff and we wouldn't be making any comment."

While MAF policies require employees to declare certain criminal convictions, the issue is complicated by the fact that Ms Goff faced the charge in Australia.

She is not the first daughter of a high-ranking Labour politician to have a conviction for possessing Ecstasy overturned.

In 2001, Annette King's daughter Amanda was convicted of dangerous driving causing injury and possession of Ecstasy after she crashed her mother's ministerial car.

In 2002, the conviction for possession was overturned and the dangerous driving convictions were downgraded to careless driving causing injury.