Latest news with #CarmelTebbutt
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Demonstrate leadership': Labor under pressure to respond to drug summit
The Minns government is being urged to move faster on overhauling drug policy in NSW, with MPs from across the political spectrum backing cannabis law reform and peak welfare groups calling for Labor to implement recommendations from the NSW 2024 Drug Summit. After last week's budget failed to include funding aimed at addressing the 56 recommendations from the summit, a coalition of peak services including NCOSS and the Wayside Chapel have urged Labor to 'demonstrate leadership' and push ahead with drug reform. 'The families and communities impacted by this issue across NSW have waited too long for change,' the joint statement, which was also signed by Uniting, the Salvation Army, Wesley Mission and the St Vincent de Paul Society read. 'We see the ongoing impact that stigma has on people who use drugs and experience drug dependency and the difficulty in accessing support.' It has been almost three months since the co-chairs of the drug summit, Carmel Tebbutt and John Brogden, handed the government its final report including 56 recommendations, among them calls for Labor to 'significantly increase' funding for drug and alcohol services. Loading While the summit stopped short of recommending decriminalisation, it called for changes ranging from the introduction of a medical defence for driving while using medically prescribed cannabis, to cutting penalties for minor drug possession. The government has yet to respond to the summit's recommendations, but in a statement, Health Minister Ryan Park said it would do so 'in the next six months as requested by the co-chairs'. Park said the government had moved to introduce a pill testing trial in the interim, and that it had announced a $235 million package for drug and alcohol services before the summit. 'The funding is focused on meeting the unique needs of priority population groups including Aboriginal people, pregnant women, people with mental health conditions, young people and people involved in the criminal justice system,' he said.
The Age
2 days ago
- Health
- The Age
‘Demonstrate leadership': Labor under pressure to respond to drug summit
The Minns government is being urged to move faster on overhauling drug policy in NSW, with MPs from across the political spectrum backing cannabis law reform and peak welfare groups calling for Labor to implement recommendations from the NSW 2024 Drug Summit. After last week's budget failed to include funding aimed at addressing the 56 recommendations from the summit, a coalition of peak services including NCOSS and the Wayside Chapel have urged Labor to 'demonstrate leadership' and push ahead with drug reform. 'The families and communities impacted by this issue across NSW have waited too long for change,' the joint statement, which was also signed by Uniting, the Salvation Army, Wesley Mission and the St Vincent de Paul Society read. 'We see the ongoing impact that stigma has on people who use drugs and experience drug dependency and the difficulty in accessing support.' It has been almost three months since the co-chairs of the drug summit, Carmel Tebbutt and John Brogden, handed the government its final report including 56 recommendations, among them calls for Labor to 'significantly increase' funding for drug and alcohol services. Loading While the summit stopped short of recommending decriminalisation, it called for changes ranging from the introduction of a medical defence for driving while using medically prescribed cannabis, to cutting penalties for minor drug possession. The government has yet to respond to the summit's recommendations, but in a statement, Health Minister Ryan Park said it would do so 'in the next six months as requested by the co-chairs'. Park said the government had moved to introduce a pill testing trial in the interim, and that it had announced a $235 million package for drug and alcohol services before the summit. 'The funding is focused on meeting the unique needs of priority population groups including Aboriginal people, pregnant women, people with mental health conditions, young people and people involved in the criminal justice system,' he said.
The Guardian
03-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Rethink use of sniffer dogs and strip-searches at music festivals, drug summit urges NSW government
The New South Wales government should consider ceasing the use of drug detection dogs and strip-searches at music festivals, a report from a landmark summit into how to reduce drug-related harms has recommended. However, it made no recommendation for decriminalising the possession of small quantities of drugs, despite acknowledging 'substantial support' for the move. The report, written by the summit's co-chairs, Carmel Tebbutt and John Brogden, made 56 recommendations after the government invited experts to inform the government on how it should deal with drug-related harms over a four-day summit held in Sydney, Griffith and Lismore. On the topic of decriminalisation, it noted there was strong support from attenders and people who made submissions to remove criminal penalties and replace them with an enhanced diversion system as part of a health – rather than criminal – approach to drugs. However, the report said: 'In comments made prior to the drug summit, the premier made it clear he did not believe the government had a mandate for decriminalisation and it was not on the government's agenda.' Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter The health minister, Ryan Park, came under fire during the summit after he ruled out NSW following the ACT's lead and decriminalising the possession of small quantities of drugs before recommendations had been handed down. In a speech after the comments, Prof Dan Howard said the government did have a mandate for decriminalisation, which came from the consensus among all peak expert bodies and prior reports including his own, the 2020 special commission of inquiry into the drug 'ice'. The report recommended the government cease the use of drug detection dogs and strip-searches for suspected drug detection at music festivals where the pill-testing trials were under way. The report asked the government to consider extending that ban to all music festivals. Sam Lee, a supervising solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, welcomed the recommendation, telling Guardian Australia after the report was released that the evidence shows the use of drug dogs and strip-searches increases risky behaviour such as preloading. 'To keep the community safe, strip-searches and drug dogs should be banned completely for suspicion of minor drug possession – not just at music [festivals],' she said. The report also recommended that the government legislate that people can mount a 'medical defence' that is either assessed by police at the roadside or by a court for people who are medically prescribed cannabis caught under the influence while driving. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion It has also recommended releasing within 12 months a 10-year strategy to reduce drug-related harms, significantly increase funding and extend funding contracts for services to five years. The report included four recommendations for Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing and cultural safety, including prioritising Aboriginal-led prevention. Park said on Wednesday upon releasing the report that 'not everyone agreed on everything, but we sought to have every voice listened to'. 'It sought to reflect the many different parts of our community touched by this challenge – healthcare, justice, housing, social services and those disproportionately impacted by illicit drugs,' he said. 'The government will now carefully consider these findings and respond in due course.'
