Page 2755 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 16 August 2005
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between community elders and the young so that bonds can be strengthened and Aboriginal people within the ACT can be confident in addressing social, health and cultural issues in a manner they see fit to apply.
I note with great interest that the ACT government is taking a positive step towards addressing a recommendation in the report I want to be heard that could see the establishment of a healing farm. I know that the minister has alluded to that, as has Dr Foskey in her remarks. This would allow Aboriginal people to be directly involved in fostering the family networks that should assist an individual to reconnect to cultural values and beliefs that form a central part of the Aboriginal community here in the ACT. This venture would prove very positive given that court sentencing often results in people being sent outside the ACT for respite care due to the lack of such facilities for Aboriginal people here in the ACT. It is very clear that the government is very capable of listening to the Aboriginal community and how it wants to break the cycle of substance abuse. The Liberal opposition supports and encourages their work in this area.
To return to the focus of whether or not the ACT requires new services that directly focus on illegal drug use in the Aboriginal community, I recently asked the Minister for Health to clarity just how well the outreach services and staffing and funding levels were addressing the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the ACT. I think the Minister has indeed alluded to much of that in his comments.
I note that Dr Foskey’s matter of public importance refers to the need for new and expanded services in the ACT to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander illegal and problematic drug use. I also note recommendation 22 on page 37 of the report under the heading “Evaluation”:
That new or expanded policies and programs developed to implement these recommendations are subject to systematic evaluation and modified, as needed, in the light of valuation research findings.
I agree that we need to move on to new policies. However, I disagree that new programs are necessarily the solution. I will be quite frank in saying that, along with ongoing federal government drug and alcohol and drug outreach services, the ACT government should be congratulated for continuing, where fiscally possible, to offer recurrent funding to organisations such as the Gugan Gulwan Youth Centre and the Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service to combat issues relating to substance abuse and to provide vital support for young people undergoing detoxification. A couple of my colleagues and I attended the launch of a federally funded program. Mr Mulcahy was there. I am not sure if Dr Foskey was there. Mr Smyth may be talking about it in a moment. But it will result in very positive moves and very positive liaisons between the federal government and the ACT government. I applaud that and I think that any issue like this has to transcend all political boundaries. So that is very positive and we look forward to working more with the government on this.
Of significance and worthy of mention is the establishment of another commonwealth-funded program, the Regional Training Medical Centre managed by Winnunga Nimmityjah. This program focuses on elevating community education and training to Aboriginal health workers in an effort to integrate those services into the mainstream. In essence, the government is taking a position, which the opposition
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