Alice Springs Youth Forum report

Alice Springs Youth Forum report

Background

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) typically holds a local agency forum in conjunction with its meeting in each State and Territory. These forums form part of the Council’s strategy to inform itself of the views of the non-government and community-based organisations working in the drug and alcohol field.

In addition to these general drug and alcohol agency forums, the Council has undertaken to host some initial youth-specific forums. This decision was taken by the ANCD to reflect the fact that issues related to youth substance use is a priority area for the Council.

The intention of this summary is to provide a brief description of each of the issues raised by forum participants. This report is posted onto the ANCD Internet Site to enable forum participants and interested others to access issues discussed at the forums. The ANCD also provides a copy of this report to the Premier or Chief Minister, as well as the responsible Minister in each jurisdiction to ensure the Government is aware of the issues raised.

It should also be noted that all the issues raised at the forums are not necessarily areas that the Council agrees with or are able to address. They do however provide an important touchstone on community concerns and perceptions for Council members. In addition, the ANCD believes that it has an obligation to participants to report the issues and concerns raised in an unfettered manner.

Alice Springs Youth Forum

Approximately 40 people from the drug and alcohol field and other sectors - including drug and alcohol workers from the non-government sector and young people - attended a youth forum hosted by the ANCD at the Mercure Hotel on Thursday 13 September 2001.

Major Watters outlined the role of the Council, it’s Terms of Reference, and the key areas of the Council’s work, as well as giving attendees some brief information about members of the ANCD. Individual Council members in attendance briefly introduced themselves to Forum participants.

Mr Vumbaca then opened the forum to participants to raise issues, and to provide views to the Council about the issues facing young people in the area, as well as suggestions on how best to consult with a range of young people.

Council members in attendance were:

Major Brian Watters (Chair)
Professor Margaret Hamilton
Mr Garth Popple
Mr Scott Wilson
Dr Robert Ali
Ms Anne Bressington
Mr Nick Gill
Ms Julie Hanbury
Ms Tonie Miller
Mr Arthur Toon
Mr Terry Woolley

The following themes were raised and discussed throughout the forum:

Real Influence of the Council
Forum participants questioned the Council about the influence it was able to have at the highest levels of government decision-making. Participants also asked about the work of the Council in relation to state or territory governments. It was also noted that the ANCD did not have representation (by virtue of membership) of drug users or young people.
Central Australian Substance Misuse Strategy
Forum participants drew member’s attention to the recently released Central Australian Substance Misuse Strategy, and requested that member’s obtain a copy of the strategy and give it ANCD support. Participants in the process for developing the strategy outlined the substantial community involvement and consultation throughout the process.
Indigenous Youth Summit Report
Participants informed the Council that there have been two Indigenous Youth Forums hosted recently in the Northern Territory, both well attended with wide representation. Members were informed of plans to hold a Territory-wide youth summit in the near future. Council members noted this and the Secretariat offered to obtain copies of the reports from these forums for the information of members.
Methadone Maintenance
Methadone maintenance treatment is still not available in the Northern Territory. Members noted that this situation had not changed since it held discussions with the previous government on this issue, and the ANCD hoped that a combination of the new government and the availability of other pharmacotherapies (such as Buprenorphine) may resolve this treatment gap, and that the Council would be advising the Northern Territory Government as such.
Community Support
ANCD members heard of frustration from young people and others at the forum about the lack of support and cohesion from the business and other community in Alice Springs. It was felt that the Alice Springs community were largely indifferent to the situation facing young people, and that AOD and other services in Alice Springs required the support of the local community to deal effectively with young people’s issues.
Service Delivery Gaps
The ANCD was advised that there is no youth-specific service available in the area, and no residential treatment facility for cannabis. Sexual assault is a problem that contributes to drug and/or alcohol abuse and it was reported that these services are also lacking.
Information to Young People about Effects of Drugs
Young people attending the forum noted that young people don’t appear to understand the negative affects of the drugs they are using. They report that knowledge of the immediate affects of drugs were known and discussed by young people, that generally the negative, medium to long-term effects of substances were not known or acknowledged.
Communication with Young People
Young participants noted the reasonably poor attendance by young people at the forum, explaining that formal settings such as these are daunting for young people, and that other means of communicating with young people are better. A range of other ways of communicating with young people was discussed. Young people also reported that they did not benefit from ‘book learning’ on the issue of drugs and that peer-based strategies worked better.
Cannabis
Those at the forum were united in their concern about the lack of clear information about the harmful effects of cannabis. Participants expressed some frustration about the often contradictory advice about the links between cannabis and psychosis, the effect of smoking cannabis when going through puberty and the rapid hormonal changes associated with adolescence, the anti-motivational effects of cannabis and the more regular use of cannabis and its affects compared with alcohol.

Young people reported that one of the most powerful reasons for initial cannabis use, and then the continuation of use, was peer structures and the desire to be ‘accepted’ in a group. In this way, participants felt there were disincentives for young people to discontinue use.

Participants reinforced views about the harmful effects of cannabis and voiced their concern at the lack of appropriate harm minimization messages being conveyed to young people. In this way, participants felt that if in a situation where they could not stop someone from using cannabis, at the very least they wanted to give advice on how to use the substance with the least health damage.
Building Capacity of Community and Elders
It was felt that in Alice Springs, and most likely in many other towns, there is a lack of powerful and positive role models. Participants reported that in many cases, substance misuse, violence and other anti-social behaviours by young people was simply the re-enactment of behaviours they observe or experience from adults. Particularly important is the role of Aboriginal elders and the need for leadership on a range of issues including health, education, etc. Participants felt that by empowering adults, more effective results can be gained through intergenerational learning, positive interaction and the opportunity for appropriate role modeling.
Teacher Education
It was reported to the Council that teachers felt inadequately equipped to address drug and alcohol issues in the school environment, and that further AOD training and expertise was urgently required.
Competitive Tendering
Workers attending the forum spoke of their frustration at the counter productive effects of competitive tendering, particularly for small communities. Agency representatives stated that this policy tended to divide the sector, and that community based initiatives and agencies are often disadvantaged because they lack submission-writing skills. Workers felt that government departments who are responsible for funding should encourage a more cooperative approach.

ANCD Secretariat
21 September 2001

Top of page

Whilst all care has been made to ensure only authorised material appears on this site, the Australian National Council on Drugs accepts no responsibility for inaccurate or false representations appearing herein.