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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 4 Hansard (22 April) . . Page.. 1153 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

we in the ACT will receive such a minimal amount of that funding. It is also a matter of some concern that the funding will expire after four years, and there is doubt about whether or not recurrent funding will be found once this pool dries up.

The Labor Party does believe that it is time - I think this is an imperative that the Minister should take into account - that the existing programs be placed under scrutiny and that we genuinely attempt to adequately determine which programs are working effectively and which are not. What are the success rates of detoxification and rehabilitation programs to date in the ACT? The evaluation data of the previous drug strategy highlighted the lack of useful and comparable ACT data in relation to drug and alcohol use. Subsequently the drug strategy notes the need for clear evaluation mechanisms and performance indicators in the provision of alcohol and other drug-related services.

It is certainly imperative that data in this area be collected, collated and analysed effectively to ensure drug and alcohol programs are funded accordingly and appropriately. It is a welcome addition to the drug strategy that there is to be action to address these problems. We all hope that there will be a real effort at assessing the effectiveness of existing programs. I believe that the lack of effective assessment of programs is a major concern in terms of where we are going with our drug programs, not only in the ACT but Australia wide.

There are other priority areas highlighted in the drug strategy, including women, and particularly women with children. We do note that the ACT and Federal governments recently announced funding of $307,000 to the Toora Wimmin's Shelter to expand training offered to service providers on the needs of women affected by illicit drug use. That certainly is something that we all welcome. That is a priority that was previously recognised in the ACT, and it is good to see steps taken to address that particular need.

Combined with that was the announcement by the ACT and Federal governments of an additional $3m to fund comprehensive residential treatment services for adolescents. Teenage Canberrans with drug and alcohol problems will now be able to be rehabilitated in Canberra without the inconvenience of having to travel interstate to access or to look for or to seek out potential rehabilitation. The Labor Party commends this initiative and looks forward to seeing a detailed plan of the proposed facility and the services, assuming that they do go more broadly than just the provision of rehabilitation services. I hope that the Minister, in planning for adolescent rehabilitation, will look more broadly than just the provision of a residential service. I believe from my discussions with him that he will be doing that.

In identifying priorities and allocating resources to drug and alcohol programs, we must also make a commitment to providing adequate support systems to complement these services. For example, accessible counselling services and follow-up programs are essential when dealing with addictions that arise as much from social dysfunction as chemical addiction.

A further priority area within the strategy is to improve access to mainstream services for people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. There is much recent data available about the dramatically higher rates of smoking in indigenous communities, as well as issues in

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