The NSW Drug Summit today announced that one of the two regional forums will be held at Lismore on Monday, November 4.
Bradley Bower, Regional Manager of from ACON Health told The Echo that, ‘We are all quite excited and happy that the community can put their ideas forward and that we have a forum to do that. We hope our position and insights are taken seriously and considered.’
Bower has been working with Troy Byrnes and Alexandra Hogan from Uniting Fair Treatment, other local community drug action teams, local members of the community and other local services to advocate for the region to have a voice and to have one of the regional drug summit forums at Lismore.
‘Their commitment was to have the drug summit and to look at gaining a regional voice. We advocated for one of those voices to be heard from here on the Northern Rivers. We’ve met with local MPs including Lismore’s Janelle Saffin, Tamara Smith from Ballina and have had support from Lismore City Council who moved a motion that was supportive of a drug summit in the region,’ said Bower.
‘Having the Drug Summit here in Lismore will give the local community an option to put forward their ideas and views on a range of issues around drug and alcohol issues. It is important to acknowledge there are many social factors that impact drug and alcohol use and that drug and alcohol use here is above state average and that has been further impacted by recent natural disasters etc.’
The NSW Government has appointed former NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt and former NSW Leader of the Opposition, John Brogden as Co-Chairs of the upcoming NSW Drug Summit.
The Co-Chairs will work with attendees to develop and prioritise solutions that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of the community and address other important issues including:
- Equity, respect and inclusion
- Safety and justice
- Keeping people safe
- Integrated care and social support
The second regional forum event will be held in Griffith Friday, 1 November.
‘Taking the Summit to regional areas like Lismore and Griffith is integral because we know that drug use impacts communities in many different ways. The drug summit will bring people together to find new ways forward to tackle this incredibly complex and difficult problem,’ said Minister for Health Ryan Park.
Health issue
Around the world there has been a move away from a ‘War on Drugs’ approach towards a health based approach that can help with treating drug addiction as well as providing effective education and preventative measures including pill testing so that avoidable drug deaths can be avoided.
‘Drug and alcohol should be treated as a health issue for people who need support and regional areas have a range of unique issues. These needs are often different to metro areas and include access to treatment, detox and rehabilitation that in regional areas present unique challenges,’ highlighted Bower. ,
‘I am so pleased that Lismore will be hosting one of the two regional forums of the Drug Summit,’ said Saffin.
‘We have our own unique challenges when it comes to this issue, and I am determined that Lismore’s voice is heard in this statewide conversation. Of course it will be the voice of the Lismore Electorate residents and the broader region,’ she said.
‘In 1999 I took part in the successful Drug Summit convened by the then Premier Bob Carr and Deputy Premier Dr Andrew Refshauge. Before that summit I organised and hosted a local community Drugs Summit at the Lismore Workers Club. It too was successful, and I was able to take forward the many views, some coalesced, some contrary, but I was able to take the local voices forward.’
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