Page 4011 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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The Greens believe it is encouraging that the model of care has tried to look beyond the traditional Western medical model of addiction by providing supports to look after cultural, spiritual and social wellbeing. This is an important recognition that social and cultural determinants—a term used to talk about the contextual factors that affect people’s lives—are crucial to improving health outcomes for all people. In particular, cultural determinants such as connection to country and historical discrimination have a significant impact on health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
At the same time social and cultural determinants cannot be addressed in isolation. Programs to support social, cultural and spiritual wellbeing will be most effective if they are provided alongside traditional health services, not instead of them. We know that people who have experienced drug and alcohol addiction are some of the most disadvantaged in our community, and this is especially the case in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. These people are likely to need greater access to routine health care as they seek to break the cycle of dependency. While the ability to provide clinical or therapeutic services is only one aspect of rehabilitation, we believe that the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm may not be able to offer truly holistic wraparound services without these components.
The model of care outlined in the Assembly last week has many positive aspects and will provide a valuable service to a section of the community, but it should not be the end goal for the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm. This project has had a long and complicated history and the original vision many years ago was to establish an Indigenous-specific drug and alcohol rehabilitation service. While the current model and programs do not yet fully realise this vision, the recent opening of the service shows that significant progress is being made. From everything I have heard the minister say in this place, she is committed to an evolving model of care and is open to the idea of more services being available on the site in the future. I am pleased to see that this commitment is also included in the minister’s amendment to this motion.
However, we need to acknowledge that there are some significant barriers to offering clinical and therapeutic drug and alcohol rehabilitation services at the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm at this stage. The current lease conditions do not allow for the provision of either clinical or therapeutic services on the site, to my understanding. That is a very significant point.
I would like to be clear with the Assembly that, as I understand these things, there are differences between “clinical” and “therapeutic”, with therapeutic services being broader and not necessarily involving medical interventions. For example, I understand that art therapy or other specific counselling modalities may not currently be offered on site. So while the Greens do acknowledge that the process to change this would likely be lengthy and require significant consultation with local landowners, these are not insurmountable barriers. That said, I understand the minister’s desire to give the current model adequate time before undertaking a review and considering changes to the service going forward.
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