Page 25 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 1990
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drinking. The outcomes of this review will be examined by the interdepartmental committee, as well as other legislative strategies which may assist in reducing the problems associated with the use of alcohol.
We must ensure that advertising and marketing practices are consistent with the aim of encouraging responsible use of alcohol. To this end I will be participating with my colleagues on the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy to ensure that appropriate standards are maintained by the alcohol industry.
The role of the non-government sector in supporting and complementing the Government in its provision of basic preventive and treatment services must not be underestimated. Non-government agencies, such as the Alcohol and Drug Foundation ACT and the Drug Referral and Information Centre, play an essential role in the provision of basic community services for individuals and families affected by alcohol.
The Government's Alcohol and Drug Service will continue to play an important role in coordinating the activities of the government and non-government sector and the administration of a grants program. This will encourage both flexibility and initiative but at the same time ensure that the programs are systematically evaluated to guarantee a continued high standard of service provision.
Research in relation to alcohol and drug matters will play an important role in policy development. We will continue to encourage those working in this important area to be involved in policy development and conduct their own quality research. Over time this will enable us to develop an integrated, systematic and comprehensive approach to alcohol dependence and alcohol-related problems. Some important initial steps will be to conduct surveys of drug use among school-age children and the continuance of innovative programs designed to improve our treatment of chronic dependence as well as our preventive approaches.
The treatment of alcohol dependence and related problems has a limited but vital role in a comprehensive set of strategies designed to reduce alcohol-related problems overall. We must never allow the development of treatment facilities to lead to a neglect of prevention. Nonetheless, we must ensure that those with a need for treatment have reasonable access to treatment facilities.
A full range of treatment services, which is sensitive to the needs of particular at-risk groups, will need to be developed. As alcohol problems mostly affect men, they are the major users of treatment facilities in the ACT. Particular at-risk groups, young people, women and Aboriginals, are underrepresented in treatment programs, possibly because of a reluctance to share treatment facilities with a predominantly adult male clientele. More needs to be done to remove the barriers to full access by these groups.
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