Hon. Samantha Rowe questions the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs regarding the Nyoongar Patrol, specifically concerning a potential transfer of funding and government liaison to the Drug and Alcohol Office, and additional funding for services in Gosnells. The Minister acknowledges the consultation and provides data on funding and service provision.

AnsweredQoN 428Legislative Council
Asked
23 April 2015
Portfolio
Aboriginal Affairs

QuestionView source ↗

NYOONGAR
PATROL
428. Hon SAMANTHA ROWE to the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the work of the Nyoongar Patrol.
(1) Has the
minister received a proposal for the Nyoongar Patrol's funding and
government liaison to be transferred to the Drug and Alcohol Office?
(2) Would the
minister be supportive of such a move?
(3) Does the
minister support additional funding for the Nyoongar Patrol so that it can
provide more than a skeleton service in Gosnells?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice of this question.
(1)–(2) The
Drug and Alcohol Office and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs are consulting
with patrol service providers to explore the costs and benefits of any proposed
transfer. This has been suggested to the state government by a number of patrol
service providers. I understand that a large proportion of client contacts by
patrols are related to alcohol and drug misuse and mental health issues. For
example, in the Perth metropolitan area in 2013–14, approximately 76
per cent of recorded client contacts related to alcohol and drug misuse.
(3) Nyoongar
Patrol received $1.014 million in 2013–14 and undertook 23 829 client
contacts across the metropolitan area in 2013–14. The patrol operates
two shifts per week in the south east corridor, which includes Gosnells,
totalling approximately 80 hours of service per week.

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