NSW Greens member Jenny Leong has announced that she will introduce a bill to NSW parliament which, if passed, will stop police being able to use sniffer dogs without a warrant at festivals, in bars and King Cross and on public transport.

The bill is being supported by Australian musicians such as producer Paul Mac and Art Vs. Science‘s Dan McNamee who are both campaigning for the use of sniffer dogs to be halted.

The news comes just days after the NSW Greens announced that they would hold a Sniff Off party this week featuring Mac. Sniff Off is one of NSW Greens’ key campaigns now as they say the use of dogs is discriminatory, humiliating and in 64 to 72 percent of cases inaccurate.

Paul Mac is a firm supporter of the campaign. “I think the use of sniffer dogs is an invasion of personal liberties. Nobody should be expected to undergo a strip search in order to enter a dance party or a music festival,” he said in a press release.

“Sniffer dogs are an aggressive way for the police force to talk to the public about drug use, of any kind.”

His concerns echo those of McNamee who spoke out against the use of sniffer dogs last year before Splendour In The Grass. In an email, which he published to social media, he urged for the Member of Ballina, Don Page, to trial a year without sniffer dogs to reduce the amount of panicked overdoses.

“The evidence is in: the drug dogs program doesn’t work,” said Greens MP for Newtown, Jenny Leong. “The NSW police have better things to do than wrongly humiliating thousands of mainly young and marginalised people.”

Greens MP and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge has added to the debate, saying that it’s humiliating and ineffective. “Despite drug dogs being wrong most of the time, thousands of people on public transport, at bars and festivals are subjected to humiliating public searches each year,” he said.

“Even when police do find drugs, it is usually a small amount for personal consumption. Only 2% of searches result in a supply conviction. The drug dog regime does not target high-level drug dealers or suppliers. It targets young people, the poor and Aboriginal communities.”

As expressed by Shoebridge, the issue extends further than music festivals and bars. Leong noted that you are 6.5 times more likely to be searched at Redfern Station then Central Station but Redfern “has the highest false-positive rate of any Local Area Command,” highlighting an issue of discrimination.

Head here to read more about the Greens’ Sniff Off campaign and their bill.