Communique

August 2007

As part of its commitment to provide high level advice to government, the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) — which is the principal advisory body to government on drug and alcohol issues — established the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee (NIDAC) in 2004 to specifically advise on Indigenous drug and alcohol issues across Australia and the most appropriate and effective approaches to address them.

NIDAC comprises of members from non-government and government organisations with specialist expertise and knowledge in dealing with Indigenous drug and alcohol issues.

Valuable feedback from people working to address Indigenous drug and alcohol is also gained through community consultation forums across Australia.

At its August 2007 community consultation forum in Broome, Western Australia, local Indigenous representatives, community services and representatives from government discussed the following:

Broome Issues

Uptake of Illicit drugs amongst young Indigenous people

The prevalence of illicit drug use and injecting drug use in Broome is unknown, although community perception is that it is an emerging trend and the uptake of drugs by Indigenous youth 12 to 15 yrs as a result of being influenced by their peers, is a major concern.

Limited community capacity to deal with alcohol and drug use

Community concerns over the levels of consumption, poly drug use and the supply of alcohol and drugs amongst Indigenous and non-indigenous youth is a serious issue for Broome to address, particularly during tourist season when the population increases substantially. Liquor restrictions have been difficult to implement as the town relies on tourism for economic development and there is access to alcohol in other communities nearby. However, the community would benefit greatly from increasing service capacity, implementing programs and infrastructure to deal with increases in alcohol and drug use, particularly injecting and poly drug use. Key needs identified:

A mobile service to remove intoxicated people to a safe place and reduce harm
After hours services and additional staff at sobering up shelter to operate 7 days week, 24 hrs day
More available beds at the sobering up shelter
After care treatment and support
Alternate life choices for Indigenous youth

Affordable treatment for Indigenous people

Rehabilitation treatment needs to be made more affordable for those Indigenous people seeking treatment who are on welfare. Access to treatment is therefore limited to those who can afford it. Options that would reduce costs such as including treatment under medical benefits or the patient assistance travel scheme were discussed.

Targeted health promotion and prevention initiatives

Understanding the nature and harms associated with drug use would be highly beneficial, particularly amongst the younger Indigenous population. Indigenous youth, pregnant mothers parents, and schools need targeted health promotion and prevention initiatives, including:

Responsible and safe drinking
Parenting and the harms associated with alcohol and drug use
Sex education
Drug education

Target the supply of amphetamine and related substances

A concerned community reported increases in the prevalence of ice, ecstasy and poly drug use in Broome, particularly during the tourist season and also amongst the 12 to 15 yr age group, with illicit drugs being easily accessible and often cheaper than alcohol, making it attractive to the younger population. Options to address the supply and use of amphetamine and related substances were discussed.

Harm minimisation for injecting drug use

The practice of sharing needles is common in Broome amongst Indigenous people who inject drugs. Young Indigenous people are reticent to access needle exchange services because of shame attached to being identified as a drug user. Alternative initiatives need to be implemented to reduce the harm for Indigenous drug injectors.

Australian Government initiative to address petrol sniffing

The Australian Government rollout of subsidised OPAL unleaded fuel in remote communities has been expanded to include the East Kimberley region. OPAL unleaded fuel is available to communities upon request to reduce the incidence of petrol sniffing. The Australian Government initiative was welcomed by community members.

NIDAC activities

A joint workshop with the National ATSI Health Council has resulted in a set of draft recommendations that will be further developed and provided to the Australian Government for the national emergency initiative in the Northern Territory.
NIDAC has been providing advice to the Northern Territory Government on the need to review the use of Kava in the Northern Territory. NIDAC notes that the Australian Government has moved to tighten import restrictions on Kava where it will not be allowed except for medical or scientific purposes. NIDAC is now calling for a review on the impact that these new restrictions will have.
NIDAC has commissioned a project to the National Drug Research Institute to identify the areas and gaps of greatest need in treatment and services addressing alcohol and drug use amongst Indigenous Australians. Associate Professor Ted Wilkes and Professor Dennis Gray provided a presentation of the NIDAC “Identifying Areas of Greatest Need” project to the Inter-Governmental Committee on Drugs and reported they had received Inter-Governmental Committee on Drugs support in accessing essential information for the project. The project will provide a valuable insight into what is needed for policy makers and service providers to effectively and comprehensively address Indigenous drug and alcohol misuse.
In developing a youth leadership proposal to divert youth from petrol sniffing for Australian Institute of Petroleum consideration, NIDAC agreed on scholarship opportunities that would allow Indigenous youth pathways in science, environmental studies, technology, arts and media industries also incorporating Indigenous cultural knowledge into these fields. The proposal would have the potential to attract corporate support in these areas.
NIDAC is continuing to work with the Australian Bureau of Statistics to expand the alcohol, drug and tobacco measures measurements for the National Indigenous Social Survey 2008 to provide a greater understanding of the prevalence and use of drugs amongst Indigenous Australians.
NIDAC released a media response to the Australian Government initiatives in the Northern Territory, 28th June 2007 which included calling for community consultation in responding to alcohol and drug issues.
The NIDAC Chair, Associate Professor Ted Wilkes has also written an article in The Australian, 18th August 2007 in response to the Australian Government Initiatives in the Northern Territory.

Next meeting

Members were informed that the next meeting will be held in Adelaide on the 15th of November 2007. A community consultation forum will be held in Adelaide on 14th November 2007.

Conclusion

More information on the NIDAC and the ANCD is available by accessing the ANCD website: www.ancd.org.au or by contacting the NIDAC Secretariat: PO Box 1552 Canberra ACT 2601