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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 6 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 2179 ..

(2) What was the total amount due by these families.

(3) In how many of these cases did ACT Housing attempt to intervene or offer assistance.

(4) If any intervention or offers of assistance occurred what type of assistance was offered.

Mr Wood

: The answer to the member's question is as follows:

(1) 16;

(2) $31,963.84;

(3) All of them;

(4) Phone calls and visits from the Housing Manager with reminders to pay and offers to set up an agreement for payment in instalments; referral to CARE Financial Services; some of the tenants were offered assistance from the Prevention from Eviction Program, and/or a Housing Manager Specialist. When legal proceedings commence tenants are referred to the Welfare Rights and Legal Centre.

Drugs-needle and syringe program

(Question No 648)

Mrs Burke

asked the Minister for Health, upon notice:

In relation to the Needle and Syringe Program:

(1) Is there any reliable data on what proportion of needles in the ACT are used more than once? If so, what proportion of needles are used more than once.

(2) What percentage of needles are properly disposed of after use.

(3) How many syringes did the Sharps Unit have to clean up during 2002 that were not properly disposed of.

(4) What geographic areas had particular problems with needles being improperly disposed of.

Mr Corbell

: The answer to the member's question is:

1) The Illicit Drug Reporting System provides us with information on the proportion of Injecting Drug User's using other people's needles and syringes. In 2001-2002 the proportion of Injecting Drug User's, using other people's needles and syringes decreased slightly from 15 per cent to 12 per cent, and the proportion of Injecting Drug User's lending their used needles and syringes to other Injecting Drug User's remained stable at 16 per cent.

2) In 2001-2002 448,647 needles were distributed through the Needle and Syringe Program. It is important to note that whilst we can count how many syringes have been dispensed from the Needle and Syringe Program we cannot determine how many of those syringes

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