Mount Gambier Drug and Alcohol Services Petition

The Hon. C. BONAROS (15:53): Today, in the other place, the member for Florey, Frances Bedford, tabled a petition with over 2,000 signatures from South Australians concerned about the lack of rehabilitation facilities for people suffering with drug and alcohol abuse. Particularly, the petition requests that funding be put in place for the provision of a psychotic crisis centre and a rehabilitation and detox facility at Mount Gambier in the state's South-East—a region that is in desperate need of help to deal with addiction. The signatures were gathered with the tenacity of Mount Gambier city councillor and former SA-Best candidate, Kate Amoroso, a recovering addict herself, and I applaud her outstanding efforts in the call to action and in gathering so many signatures.

I remind members that Mount Gambier hosted the federal government's first national ice task force community meeting in 2015. That was because Mount Gambier was once labelled the ice capital of Australia, an unenviable title now bestowed on Darwin. In November last year, federal health minister Greg Hunt announced a $20 million funding package for drug and alcohol treatment in South Australia, which will provide grants of up to $2.5 million to substance abuse services in regions considered in need of greater services.

The funding was struck as part of a larger funding package of $40 million secured by my federal colleague the member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, and my Centre Alliance colleagues, something of which we were all extraordinarily proud. It was done as part of the federal government's welfare reforms, and announced in the 2018-19 federal budget. It is, therefore, a huge kick in the guts that, for reasons unknown, the state's South-East, which is home to SA's second biggest city—Mount Gambier—was not included among the areas identified for funding.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: Shame, absolute shame.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: It is a huge kick in the guts for the region again, as it means that Mount Gambier is not eligible for direct funding from a federal government program aimed at boosting drug and alcohol services. It is such a misguided decision that it will have a detrimental impact on the people of the South-East suffering with addiction, and the loving families who are at their wits' end trying to find ways to help their loved ones kick their habits.

The federal Liberal member for Barker, Tony Pasin, has made excuses for the federal government that just do not stack up. He said that service providers from Mount Gambier and the South-East could partner with organisations in areas like Murray Bridge—a regional city eligible for the funding—and that is just not good enough. Mount Gambier is ground zero for meth abuse in this state. Issues with meth addiction in the South-East have been well documented. What is not as well documented is the total destruction that the scourge of drug addiction can have on a person's life and on those around them, and in many instances on the community in which they live.

The needs of the community in the South-East clearly are being ignored by the federal government. Centre Alliance candidate for Barker, Kelly Gladigau, labelled it as absolutely disgusting. She went on:

It's not cost effective, it's not good for the region. I think he [Mr Pasin] should be fighting that this has been a massive oversight for Mount Gambier and the South-East. The federal member for Barker should be making things happen and fighting for the region, not just handballing it to another area that has been eligible for the funds and trying to do a band-aid effect that way.

I could not agree more.

The brave Kate Amoroso has gone on the record saying that she does not believe organisations in the region have the capacity to partner with providers in other areas, including Murray Bridge, which is a more than 360-kilometre drive from Mount Gambier. I have to take the opportunity to commend both these women, extraordinarily strong women, for their continued commitment and advocacy on this most important issue. It is a ridiculous and unworkable situation that has been proposed. The South-East clearly needs its own rehab facility, and I know that both Kate and Kelly will not rest until something is done about it. The number of signatures on the petition shows that the support for drug rehab in the South-East is far-reaching, and the need is extremely widespread.