Hobart AOD Agency Forum report

Hobart AOD Agency Forum report

Background

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) has determined it will hold a local agency forum, in conjunction with its meeting in each State and Territory. These forums form part of the Council’s strategy to fulfill its role of representing the views of non-government and community-based organisations working in the drug and alcohol field.

It should be noted that all the issues raised at the Forums are not necessarily areas that the Council will be able to address. They do however provide an important touchstone for the Council's members.

The intention of this summary is to provide a brief description of each of the issues raised by forum participants. In addition to informing ANCD members of the drug and alcohol issues in the particular area, the Council also writes to the responsible Minister in each jurisdiction to ensure these issues are raised.

Hobart Alcohol and Other Drug Sector Agency Forum

Approximately 20 people from the drug and alcohol field in and around Hobart - including workers from the non-government sector, police, state and federal government representatives - attended a forum hosted by the ANCD at Rydges Hotel on Thursday 14 December 2000.

Mr Gino Vumbaca, Executive Officer for the ANCD gave a brief welcome and introduction to the forum, then introduced the Chairman of the Council, Major Brian Watters.

Major Watters outlined the role of the Council; it’s Terms of Reference, and the Key Activity Areas within the Council’s Work Plan. Individual Council members briefly introduced themselves and their backgrounds to Forum participants. Major Watters then invited participants to introduce themselves to the group and ANCD members.

Major Watters encouraged Forum participants to view the Council as "their" Council and invited individuals to raise issues with either the Council in its entirety, or with individual Council members.

Council members in attendance were:

Major Brian Watters (Chair)
Professor Margaret Hamilton
Professor Ian Webster
Professor Wayne Hall
Dr Robert Ali
Deputy-Commissioner Jack Johnston
Ms Tonie Miller
Mr Craig Thompson
Mr Arthur Toon
Mr Dennis Young
Mr Scott Wilson
Mr Tony Trimingham
Mr Gino Vumbaca (Secretariat)
Ms Karen Price (Secretariat)
Ms Sue Kerr (Department of Health and Aged Care - Advisor)

The following themes were raised and discussed throughout the forum:

Tasmanian NGO Peak Body
There was discussion about the lack of a peak body representing the NGO sector in Tasmania, similar to those that operate in other states (such as NADA and VAADA). There have been preliminary discussions with the Chief Executive Officer of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, Ms Caroline Fitzwarryne on this subject. Funding is a key issue and forum participants indicated that perhaps funds could be sought through the state health department (such as is the case in Victoria for VAADA).
State vs Federal Funding
There was some concern expressed that given the injection of new funds from the Commonwealth, that the State Government is able to devote less ‘new’ money to drug and alcohol issues. Representatives from the sector are keen to ensure that the commitment level of the Commonwealth is matched by the State. The issue of recurrent funding being linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and increasing accordingly, was also raised.
Taxation
The distinction between benevolent and charitable institutions, for the purposes of taxation and GST & FBT exemptions, is not clear and/or well understood by many organisations in the sector. The taxation ruling change that is expected in April will impact significantly on non-government organizations and this issue is becoming increasingly important. The initial attraction, then retention, of skilled, professional staff is dependent (to a large degree) on an organisation’s abilities to pay a reasonable salary.
Welfare Reform
The impact of changes to the social security and other welfare systems is poignant for those with a drug and/or alcohol problem. Penalties for non-compliance are harsh, however the chaotic nature of addiction and the ability of persons affected by addiction to keep schedules, etc means that often those penalties are enforced on drug and/or alcohol clients at disproportionately high rates. The same is true for co-morbid clients. The result is often that workers spend large amounts of time negotiating with Centrelink as the loss of benefits for the client threatens their livelihood. The sector is concerned about the content of the McClure report into welfare reform.
Retaining methadone prescribing Doctors & dispensing Pharmacists
There is some difficulty in recruiting doctors to become Methadone prescribers and some difficulty (to a lesser extent) retaining pharmacists to dispense it. The stigmatisation of drug users and the resultant issues for Doctors and their reputations needs addressing.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & Prescribing Rates
Some concern was raised over the increasingly common diagnosis of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the emerging ‘trade’ in the medications for it – that is, Dexamphetamine and Ritalin (both central nervous system stimulants). The concerns raised included the development of ‘gateway behaviours’ such as dealing in drugs and using drugs to avoid behavioural problems. A perception that this condition may be being over diagnosed exists within workers in the sector.
Prescribing of Pharmaceuticals
Tasmania has twice the national average for prescribing of morphine products. Increasingly, the drugs on the streets are either pharmaceuticals, or derivatives of pharmaecuiticals. Prescribing of stimulants (dexamphetamine, etc), opiates and benzodiazepines also seems to be more prevalent in lower socio-economic areas.
Alcohol & Perceptions
Alcohol remains the biggest issue in Tasmania, particularly given that most people do not identify it as a significant problem. In one case, a worker was told that a parent give the children small amounts of alcohol so that "they know what they are using and at least that way they may not use drugs". This highlights the issue that people more readily identify drugs other than alcohol as the main area of concern.
Heroin in the North & Methadone
Launceston appears to have a bigger heroin problem than Hobart, with more overdoses occurring in the north of the State. Forum participants also informed the Council that there it is more common for Tasmanians to return from living in Melbourne for a period of time, to return to Tasmania to seek treatment and join the methadone program.
Structural Issues
Tasmania is not a wealthy state and as such there are the associated societal issues (such as high unemployment, poor public housing options, poverty, etc). These same factors are recognized as some of the main determinants of drug use. Sector representatives at this meeting agreed that supply control measures are to be maintained, however the real challenge is reducing the demand for substances and this is made difficult by the prevailing socio-economic conditions in Tasmania.

20 December 2000

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