Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was delighted to open the Banjara Medical Centre in my electorate of McPherson, a specialist amphetamine treatment clinic. The centre is located at Mirikai—a name synonymous with innovation and excellence in the drug and alcohol sector and run by the Gold Coast Drug Council. Mirikai means a ‘place of peace’ and banjara means ‘good’ or ‘feeling well’.

The centre received a grant of just under half a million dollars under the Amphetamine Type Stimulants Grants Program of the Department of Health and Ageing. The grant has expanded the capacity of Mirikai to provide services and facilities for a medical service and support team to treat both drug misuse and coexisting mental health conditions. It supports the treatment of amphetamine type substance misuse and its complications, in particular the mental health conditions that come from misusing these substances.

An increasing number of clients are presenting themselves to Mirikai with amphetamine type stimulants as a primary or secondary drug of concern. In 2008-09, statistics showed that 31 per cent of residential clients identified amphetamines as a primary drug of concern and another 25 per cent identified amphetamines as a secondary drug of concern. Statistics from the new Complex Needs Assessment Panel, which is housed at Banjara, indicate that more than 50 per cent of its client group with complex needs indicate amphetamines as a primary drug of choice. Many clients presenting have other medical or health issues as a result of drug use, and it became clear to the Gold Coast Drug Council that treatment and counselling support were dependent on having available a GP to address the medical concerns and make the necessary referrals to specialists. The Banjara Medical Centre now makes that possible.

As mentioned previously, Mirikai has an excellent reputation, which is something I have witnessed repeatedly as the local federal member over many years. But Mirikai’s reach extends beyond the electorate of McPherson and, indeed, beyond Gold Coast City itself. It was recently announced that the Gold Coast Drug Council has been chosen to deliver a new drug and alcohol rehabilitation service for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Cairns and its surrounds. When announcing the Cairns funding, the Australian government recognised the efforts of the Gold Coast Drug Council and said:

… it demonstrated the strongest capacity for best practice drug and alcohol rehabilitation service delivery and good financial management through an open tender process.

The Gold Coast Drug Council’s programs and services are emulated by other rehabilitation services. It has also been recognised by the Institute for Healthy Communities Australia, one of the very few non-government organisations to receive such accreditation in Australia.

There is no doubt that Mirikai is a success story, but the reason for its success is its people: the staff, the volunteers and those requiring rehabilitation. The CEO of Mirikai is Mary Alcorn. Mary is highly regarded in the Gold Coast community. She has been with Mirikai for 23 years and has played a huge role in making it the cutting edge organisation it is. That is what makes Mirikai special—the dedication and professionalism of its staff and all its volunteers, the innovativeness of its programs and its emphasis on lending a helping hand to those in need.

The going is tougher for people with addictions and mental illness, but with the right treatment there is nothing stopping them from leading full and enriched lives. Over the years, I have met numerous graduates of Mirikai and attended their graduation ceremonies. These are young people who have had addictions and have suffered from mental illness. Many of them are exceptionally talented. I have shed a tear or two with their families as they have gone through these programs, come out the other end and become productive members of our society, particularly as part of our community on the Gold Coast. They are very brave young people, they are very talented and they have something to give back once they have gone through those rehabilitation programs.

I applaud Mary and all her team for their passion, their commitment and their dedication to the programs that they are delivering on the Gold Coast. I am proud to have been associated with them and to have assisted them over the years I have been the federal member for McPherson.