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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 3353 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

It is generally agreed that the approach has to include provision of sterile needles and syringes sufficient to meet demand so as to reduce the prevalence of unsafe injecting; education programs aimed at reducing illicit drug use, particularly injecting drug use; provision of drug treatment programs such as methadone maintenance, sufficient to meet demand, so as to reduce the prevalence of unsafe injecting and the prevalence of illicit drug use; provision of safe injecting places to reduce the prevalence of unsafe injecting; education programs targeting injecting drug users through specialised agencies; educative programs and the provision of preventative measures in prisons; measures that reduce the number of injecting drug users in correctional centres through the adoption of cautioning systems for first offences and diversionary sentencing; removal of legal impediments to achieving a higher proportion of safer injecting amongst injecting drug users; and establishment of an agreed core service structure and realistic output targets for education and prevention services.

With this background, on the question of access to clean syringes and injecting equipment, the committee made a number of recommendations. These recommendations include the need for consistent standards across Australia in relation to supply and disposal of injecting equipment, the need for an education campaign on the safe disposal of used injecting equipment and greater provision of disposal units, and the need for improved after-hours access to needle and syringe programs including that there be vending machines installed in suitable locations determined in consultation with stakeholders.

The committee also gave considerable attention to correctional settings. It recommended that the government apply the harm-reduction model in correctional institutions as occurs in the broader community and that it consults with stakeholders including, of course and importantly, custodial officers about how this can best be done. The committee also stressed the importance of taking the need to adopt this health policy into account when planning a new prison.

We should not waste the opportunity to ensure that the ACT prison represents best practice in every regard. There are particular problems in correctional settings and the committee acknowledges and respects the concerns expressed by custodial officers. It is essential that any programs are developed with them and I am optimistic given the experience overseas that it is possible to introduce programs that do not put the officers at further risk and which in fact are more likely to protect them as well as the inmates. No-one is denying that drugs are injected in correctional settings. No-one is denying that needles are shared and that diseases are transmitted. It is essential that we reduce the spread of disease in correctional settings as we are attempting to do in the broader community.

It's only a matter of time before the duty of care to do this is determined in court as happened in regards provision of condoms in correctional settings. The committee also made recommendations specifically in relation to service for indigenous peoples and in particular the need for the indigenous community to be consulted on the design of services dealing with injecting drug use and for cultural factors to be taken into account.

This report does not avoid the hard questions. The spread of blood-borne disease is a serious public health issue. We must embrace policies and programs that have been shown to reduce this spread. It does, as I have mentioned, require a broad approach but

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