The NSW Labor government has finally delivered on their election promise to hold a NSW Drug Summit that will take place this year.
The multiday summit will comprise two days of regional forums in October 2024 and two days of forums in Sydney on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December.
‘Finally, after a decade a government has listened. I am so grateful to Premier Minns and Minister Park for hearing the community,’ Matt Noffs, CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation told The Echo.
‘Whereas 20 years ago it was heroin in backalleys, it’s now meth and youth crime in regional areas, including Byron Bay. ‘But what lies behind youth crime and ice addiction? You guessed it – trauma. So locking kids up and throwing away the key just makes hardened criminals.
‘This Summit is a chance for regional NSW to see action and to make regional areas safer. To treat drug problems and implement better diversion for young offenders,’ he said.
‘We can’t arrest our way out but we can treat the trauma and no one is as traumatised as regional communities. Methaphetamine still has a strong hold on northern towns and this summit is a chance to act and make those communities safer.’
The government have said that the Drug Summit will bring together medical experts, police, people with lived and living experience, drug user organisations, families, and other stakeholders to provide a range of perspectives and build consensus on the way NSW deals with drug use and harms.
‘We know that drug use impacts individuals, families and 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 NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Drug hubs
The $33.9 million for drug and alcohol support and Drug Summit will see twelve not-for-profit organisations receive a share of $33.9 million over four years to deliver new, wrap-around alcohol and other drug support services, as part of the NSW Government’s response to the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’.
This announcement included The Buttery at Nimbin who will be one of six organisations funded to add access to alcohol and other drug treatment and support to their existing community services.
‘These new alcohol and other drug hubs will boost access to much-needed support services, particularly in regional and rural areas and for priority populations,’ said NSW Health Minister Ryan Park.
‘he drug summit will provide a range of viewpoints from those who interact with illicit drug use and addiction, from both health as well as non-health contexts. This is an important conversation for us to have and it will be the first of its kind in a quarter-century.’
The NSW government will begin initial discussions with stakeholders in determining the terms of reference of the summit.
‘The Premier is tackling what Berejiklian never saw coming, that is the post-COVID crime. Trauma remains the protagonist in the story of drugs and crime. The NSW government has shown that regional crime – youth crime and drugs – is something that hurts everyone. I’m thankful that we are going to see real change after 20 years,’ Mr Noffs told The Echo.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
