Motions

Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. F. Pangallo:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges a disturbing report released by the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program late last year that revealed Adelaide was the methamphetamine (ice) 'capital' of Australia, with the city found to have the highest levels of use—about 80 doses per 1,000 persons per day. This compares to the national average of 30 doses per 1,000 persons per day;

2. Recognises the invaluable work of the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council (ADAC) in providing culturally and linguistically appropriate alcohol and other drug treatment services for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients;

3. Notes that ADAC is unique in Australia as it is the only Indigenous peak body of its kind representing 30 Aboriginal community organisations from across South Australia;

4. Notes the services provided by the ADAC include a residential rehabilitation centre in Port Augusta and diversionary programs in Adelaide run by former AFL footballer Troy Bond, which have helped many Indigenous South Australians rebuild their lives;

5. Notes the Footsteps Road to Recovery program has received 350 referrals in the past two years, with five former clients gaining employment and many more undertaking voluntary work in their communities;

6. Recognises that up to 40 people per day undertake diversionary programs, which run for 48 weeks of the year with up to 9,000 participants each year.

7. Notes the federal parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement's final report into crystal methamphetamine published in March 2018 recommended that: '…Australian governments continue to advance collaboration with Indigenous communities and Indigenous health experts to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate alcohol and other drug treatment services';

8. Notes that this front-line drug and alcohol rehabilitation organisation faces closure because of a federal government funding cut; and

9. Urges the federal government to reverse its decision to cease $700,000 in annual federal funding to the ADAC.

to which the Hon. D.G.E. Hood moved to amend by leaving out paragraph 1 and inserting the following:

Delete paragraph 1 and insert:

1. Acknowledges the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission's recent report on the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program that revealed Adelaide was found to have high levels of methamphetamine use—about 80 doses per 1,000 persons per day.

Delete paragraph 8

Delete paragraph 9 and insert:

9. Urges the federal government to work with Indigenous communities and service providers to maximise alcohol and other drug treatment services.

(Continued from 26 July 2018.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (17:13): I rise to support this motion proffered by the Hon. Frank Pangallo. In particular, I call on the federal government to reinstate the $700,000 it has cut from the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council (ADAC). ADAC was established in 1993 in response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. At that time it was agreed that as the majority of those deaths had a drug and/or alcohol-related component, a community control response was needed. This led to a statewide peak substance misuse organisation, and ADAC was established.

ADAC is unique in Australia. It is the only Indigenous peak body of its kind across any state. ADAC provides responses to a range of state and national committees and strategies, helps communities deal with the problems associated with substance misuse, develops health promotion material, and undertakes research on its own and in collaboration with various universities and key national research organisations.

ADAC has recently launched a national awareness campaign on the dangers of ice, and an ADAC-hosted national conference on Indigenous drug and alcohol issues will also go ahead in Adelaide later this year. Given that the prevalence of ice has become a particular issue for South Australia compared to other states, one would have thought that the federal Liberal government would have seen the value in continuing to support ADAC. ADAC is helping to combat the scourge of ice and does not discriminate in the services it provides, regardless of whether clients are Indigenous or non-Indigenous.

It is my understanding that ADAC was advised by the federal government in late May about their funding being cut by $700,000. This money is what is normally received by ADAC on 1 January each year, and covers the administration cost of running the organisation. This funding will cease from 1 January 2019, less than six months away. The federal government is trying to insist that ADAC should be able to continue many of its services. The government is continuing to provide $1.38 million up until 2020, but it is clear from the numbers that $700,000 represents a significant funding cut.

ADAC chief executive Mr Scott Wilson said that the council would not be able to keep operating the centres once its main funding grant ended. He said:

We can't operate without funding because then we'll be busted for trading while insolvent. Legally we would probably have to stop taking clients at the end of September so that they finish their 12 weeks by January the first.

On the ground this could potentially mean the loss of some significant programs and services to our community that are currently being run by ADAC. It is my understanding that the opposition health spokesperson in the other place, Mr Chris Picton, wrote to Senator the Hon. Nigel Scullion asking him to rectify this matter. I believe the member for Kaurna has also sought support in writing from our state health minister, the Hon. Stephen Wade. I urge the federal government to reverse this cut in funding, and commend this motion to the council.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (17:18): I would like to thank my colleagues for their contributions to the motion. I would like to particularly thank them for acknowledging the importance of the motion both in terms of highlighting the issues we are facing as a community dealing with the scourge of methamphetamine addiction and the importance of the Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council, or ADAC, as it is known.

It is vitally important that culturally and linguistically appropriate alcohol and other drug treatment services are provided for Indigenous and non-Indigenous clients. It is clear that the state government needs to wake up and get tough on the ice epidemic raging in South Australia. Only last week, damning data was released that revealed that about 5,000 workers employed in safety-sensitive industries are working each day under the influence of methamphetamines, predominantly ice.

The Business SA data, which does not include workers in other sectors, including hospitality and the white-collar workforce, backs up a report released late last year by the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, revealing that Adelaide was the methamphetamine (ice) capital of Australia. What a shameful claim to fame that is. This new data is damning and a sad and worrying indictment on South Australia's current programs targeting our ice epidemic and further establishes our unenviable reputation of being the ice capital of the country.

The Liberal government needs to wake up. What is it going to take before it gets tough on this ice scourge in South Australia—a workplace death or, worse, a workplace catastrophe caused by a worker under the influence of methamphetamines? SA-Best has gone on record as supporting the state government's push for new laws to mandatorily detain drug-addicted children and young people for up to 12 months. However, these laws need to be extended to include a suitable mandatory program in a well-resourced rehabilitation facility for adult high-end users and repeat offenders. Mandatory rehabilitation is a key part of a suite of measures to attack this issue head on, regardless of a person's age.

South Australia's shameful ice epidemic not only impacts directly on individuals but also has flow-on effects on our health and corrections systems, family violence, community safety and crime. In the face of this current data, ADAC, which provides such pivotal assistance in the drug and alcohol addiction space, is facing closure. ADAC does not have funding to continue into next year. ADAC has written to the federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, seeking a meeting. They have yet to receive a response. It cannot provide secure employment to its staff, two of whom are people with disabilities.

While it is true that there have been no cuts to funding for front-line alcohol and other drug treatment services provided by ADAC, without this peak body being able to continue to oversee and manage these vital front-line services, they will cease, too. It is a case of not wanting to fund the engine room but expecting the wheels to keep turning. That means the future of services like the Stepping Stones Drug and Alcohol Day Centres at Ceduna and Port Augusta, which provide a range of treatment and non-residential diversionary programs for Indigenous people experiencing problems caused by substance abuse, face shutting down for good.

The Stepping Stones centre at Ceduna also provides breakfast, lunch, shower and laundry facilities; counselling services; peer support groups; arts and crafts; music therapy; and life skills. It keeps people away from alcohol and gambling. The amazing team at Ceduna's Stepping Stones day centre includes a clinical nurse, a substance misuse worker, an outreach worker and support staff, with visiting specialist services. When the day centre was a government-run facility, only 900 people went through the centre each year. Under ADAC administration, the Stepping Stones day centre at Ceduna now assists over 20,000 people who come to the centre each year. That is a remarkable achievement.

We cannot let the Ceduna day centre and many other programs administered by ADAC be at risk of closing because the peak body has had its funding cut. Finally, I note the amendments moved by the Hon. Dennis Hood when he recently spoke to the motion. I can indicate that SA-Best accepts the proposed change to paragraph 1 of the motion and also the proposed insertion of the paragraph that reads:

Urges the Federal Government to work with Indigenous communities and service providers to maximise alcohol and other drug treatment services.

With the effect that it would become paragraph 10 of the motion. However, we cannot accept the deletion of paragraphs 8 and 9 for the reasons I have already outlined.

The Hon. D.G.E. Hood's amendment to paragraph 1 carried; the Hon. D.G.E. Hood's amendment to paragraph 8 negatived; the Hon. D.G.E. Hood's amendment to paragraph 9 negatived; motion as amended carried.