❓ The Minister for Mental Health addresses progress on legislation to combat petrol sniffing, citing research gaps and a preference for comprehensive approaches over solely legislative solutions, including evaluating Northern Territory programs and community involvement.
AnsweredQoN 209Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
PETROL SNIFFING — LEGISLATION
209. Hon GIZ WATSON to the Minister for Mental Health:
I refer to the report published in The Australian on 27 December 2011 entitled ''Compulsory
treatment push for Aboriginal petrol sniffers'', which reported the
minister as saying that legislation to combat petrol sniffing, similar to laws
in the Northern Territory, would be a key priority this year.
(1) What progress has been made on this bill to date?
(2) When is it expected that the bill will be introduced?
209. Hon GIZ WATSON to the Minister for Mental Health:
I refer to the report published in The Australian on 27 December 2011 entitled ''Compulsory
treatment push for Aboriginal petrol sniffers'', which reported the
minister as saying that legislation to combat petrol sniffing, similar to laws
in the Northern Territory, would be a key priority this year.
(1) What progress has been made on this bill to date?
(2) When is it expected that the bill will be introduced?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(2)
On a number of occasions—and the most number of occasions I have talked
about this matter—I have indicated that if evidence is available that
demonstrates the efficacy of the Northern Territory legislation in comparison
with existing Western Australian legislation, I would be prepared to consider
such an approach in this state. I want to make it clear that Western Australian
legislation is in place at the moment but it is spread across two or three
different acts. I do not think that is the most efficient way to provide that
kind of legislation to support something like the mandatory treatment programs
that operate in the Northern Territory. I have always underlined that with the
comment that it has to be proven that the mandatory treatment program produces
better results than the voluntary treatment program that currently exists in
Western Australia.
Towards the end of last year I asked
the Drug and Alcohol Office to do some research across not only Australia but
also other jurisdictions to find evidence or research around that.
Unfortunately, the information that I got back is that there appears to be a
paucity of research into the effectiveness of what is referred to as civil
commitment options. Having said that, I am not prepared to leave it at that.
People from the Northern Territory programs have spoken to me in my office. We
have looked at some projects. I recently spent five days travelling around the
Ngaanyatjarra lands and visiting Aboriginal communities. I talked to people who
were accessing the Mt Theo program in the Northern Territory. More recently we decided,
in the absence of having some legislation in WA, that we would fly young people
from Laverton to a Northern Territory service and also monitor the outcome of
those young people.
I have come to the understanding
that a successful response to volatile substance abuse depends on much more
than legislation; it requires this rather comprehensive approach which involves
the fuel alternatives—the rolling out of opal fuel. That is a
commonwealth responsibility. The commonwealth is doing good work on that.
Appropriate legislation is needed to require people to attend residential
rehabilitation facilities, including in those very remote areas. The problem is
that some of those very remote facilities have fallen over because they cannot
retain staff. It is very difficult to retain staff. The people from the
Northern Territory were telling me that they have to be a long distance away
from where people live because the legislation does not give them the right to
detain people there. If someone decides they have had enough one day and they
are going to walk out, they can. Under the legislation, the only option is for
them to be detained by the police and taken back to the rehabilitation
facility. The people running the program get around that by establishing these
places a reasonable distance away from the community so that the chances of
walking back are not that great. That in itself has the problems of retaining
staff and making sure that an ongoing resource is available for the services to
continue to operate.
Officers from the Drug and Alcohol
Office were with me on my trip around the Ngaanyatjarra lands. They have made a
commitment to meet with the people and see what happens at Mt Theo. I
understand that it works very well but it is not what we might call a standard
government-run service. I do not think it is a government run-service.
Apart from the legislation and the
rehabilitation facilities, we also require a determination by the local
communities and authorities to bring about a zero tolerance attitude of petrol
and other volatile substance sniffing. That is absolutely essential. The people
at Mt Theo also said that one of the strengths of any of these programs is that
when the kids go back to the community, if the community elders and adults do
not role-model the behaviour that the kids are expected to undertake and show
consequences for bad behaviour, it will not work and they are just wasting
their time. The critical mass of all these initiatives working together is
necessary to begin to reverse the current downward spiral of volatile substance
abuse. Such a response requires dedication and determination across state,
commonwealth and local government agencies. The trip that I did out to the
lands was incredibly uplifting because many of those things are in place in a
series of communities. They have opal fuel, local by-laws, no alcohol—they
are dry communities—and the communities are very strongly connected
with country and their culture. They have a relatively minor or negligible
issue with volatile substance abuse. Work is continuing on this issue but at
the moment I am not committed to bringing in that legislation. I am still
looking at all those issues that I mentioned.
member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(2)
On a number of occasions—and the most number of occasions I have talked
about this matter—I have indicated that if evidence is available that
demonstrates the efficacy of the Northern Territory legislation in comparison
with existing Western Australian legislation, I would be prepared to consider
such an approach in this state. I want to make it clear that Western Australian
legislation is in place at the moment but it is spread across two or three
different acts. I do not think that is the most efficient way to provide that
kind of legislation to support something like the mandatory treatment programs
that operate in the Northern Territory. I have always underlined that with the
comment that it has to be proven that the mandatory treatment program produces
better results than the voluntary treatment program that currently exists in
Western Australia.
Towards the end of last year I asked
the Drug and Alcohol Office to do some research across not only Australia but
also other jurisdictions to find evidence or research around that.
Unfortunately, the information that I got back is that there appears to be a
paucity of research into the effectiveness of what is referred to as civil
commitment options. Having said that, I am not prepared to leave it at that.
People from the Northern Territory programs have spoken to me in my office. We
have looked at some projects. I recently spent five days travelling around the
Ngaanyatjarra lands and visiting Aboriginal communities. I talked to people who
were accessing the Mt Theo program in the Northern Territory. More recently we decided,
in the absence of having some legislation in WA, that we would fly young people
from Laverton to a Northern Territory service and also monitor the outcome of
those young people.
I have come to the understanding
that a successful response to volatile substance abuse depends on much more
than legislation; it requires this rather comprehensive approach which involves
the fuel alternatives—the rolling out of opal fuel. That is a
commonwealth responsibility. The commonwealth is doing good work on that.
Appropriate legislation is needed to require people to attend residential
rehabilitation facilities, including in those very remote areas. The problem is
that some of those very remote facilities have fallen over because they cannot
retain staff. It is very difficult to retain staff. The people from the
Northern Territory were telling me that they have to be a long distance away
from where people live because the legislation does not give them the right to
detain people there. If someone decides they have had enough one day and they
are going to walk out, they can. Under the legislation, the only option is for
them to be detained by the police and taken back to the rehabilitation
facility. The people running the program get around that by establishing these
places a reasonable distance away from the community so that the chances of
walking back are not that great. That in itself has the problems of retaining
staff and making sure that an ongoing resource is available for the services to
continue to operate.
Officers from the Drug and Alcohol
Office were with me on my trip around the Ngaanyatjarra lands. They have made a
commitment to meet with the people and see what happens at Mt Theo. I
understand that it works very well but it is not what we might call a standard
government-run service. I do not think it is a government run-service.
Apart from the legislation and the
rehabilitation facilities, we also require a determination by the local
communities and authorities to bring about a zero tolerance attitude of petrol
and other volatile substance sniffing. That is absolutely essential. The people
at Mt Theo also said that one of the strengths of any of these programs is that
when the kids go back to the community, if the community elders and adults do
not role-model the behaviour that the kids are expected to undertake and show
consequences for bad behaviour, it will not work and they are just wasting
their time. The critical mass of all these initiatives working together is
necessary to begin to reverse the current downward spiral of volatile substance
abuse. Such a response requires dedication and determination across state,
commonwealth and local government agencies. The trip that I did out to the
lands was incredibly uplifting because many of those things are in place in a
series of communities. They have opal fuel, local by-laws, no alcohol—they
are dry communities—and the communities are very strongly connected
with country and their culture. They have a relatively minor or negligible
issue with volatile substance abuse. Work is continuing on this issue but at
the moment I am not committed to bringing in that legislation. I am still
looking at all those issues that I mentioned.
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