Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sometimes the pattern of life spins a number of coincidences into collision and suddenly your eyes open wide. The South Coast Register ran an article in October on crystal methamphetamine or ice. My initial reaction was that is awful, yet another social impact on our youth. Friday of the same week, I had been invited to a youth project located in the north of the electorate, Triple Care Farm, run by Mission Australia. It has been there for over 30 years and I must have driven past it a hundred times, never knowing just what was going on down that dirt track. Their work is phenomenal. They assist youth addicts to put their lives back together. The third event that took place tore my heart: a radio interview on 2SE with an anguished mother pleading for help for her teenage child addicted to ice and for herself, struggling to cope with no support. This problem of ice is bigger than us all. It will take all levels of government, community groups and schools to work together or we will be on the brink of losing a generation of children.

Crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride is a disgusting and dangerous drug. It is made in filthy, dirty places. Smoking, sniffing or injecting just once is once too often. It is very, very addictive. Some of our young people see it as a party drug, an experimental choice. Those young people have no idea that they will age faster, damage their teeth, develop ugly skin lesions, suffer violent episodes, destroy families or destroy themselves. The message we need to share is: don't try it, just don't.

On 20 November, we had an ice information night, listening to Gabriella from the Triple Care Farm, Will from Watershed, Ivan from Oolong House, Norm from the Salvation Army Shoalhaven Bridge program and Julie Clark from Family Drug Support. They spoke honestly and compassionately but also appealed for help. The use of ice is increasing exponentially in our region, yet there are not enough detox units nor safe rehab locations. There are strategies of support where about six months of post-rehab mentoring is essential for success. Two days before the forum, I was told of the horrendous events that an ice addict inflicts on their own family.

During the meetings, several personal journeys were shared with those in attendance. One grandmother is beside herself—her drug addicted daughter has four children. The grandmother is devastated that she cannot gain custody of these children. She has tried to keep the daughter's home as a good environment for these children, at times cleaning maggots from the kitchen where they eat. Different government departments are following different sets of rules and in the end the drug addicted mother retains custody.

One day before the forum, parents were calling saying: 'What can we do to help? We want things to change.' On the day of the forum, I was told by another family that they have lost three members of their family—one directly from an ice overdose and two by suicide because, apparently, they felt like failures. Since that time another family has called me. Their teenage daughter has been showing weird behaviour. On a day when mum challenged that behaviour, the daughter jumped on her, punching her. The father came in and threw the daughter on the bed. Government reporting then took place after false allegations were made and the family are now not allowed to see their own daughter.

We have a system that is siloed. We have to develop a strategy of complete cooperation. We need to urgently review the way our government agencies can collaborate. The information night was an important first step. We now have a volunteer who will be a facilitator to establish a local support group for families of addicts. In fact, their first meeting is tonight. We will consider all contact numbers for all services, consolidate them and put them in a leaflet, and distribute it to every pharmacy, doctors surgery, youth centre and community centre. Another group want to establish an advocacy group to push for government departments to work together and get all of us to work together. Some young attendees and charity service providers have asked: 'What does it look like?' 'How can we tell if someone is an addict?' 'How can we stop our young teenagers from thinking about trying this lethally addictive and disgusting drug?'

Education and awareness is now absolutely imperative. Triple Care Farm has a plan. It is ready to go for a 10-bed detox facility. They already have a million dollars of corporate money towards this $3 million facility. They need $3 million. It is my intention to fight hard for the early delivery of the remaining $2 billion because it will be the only youth detox unit in New South Wales. They treat children and youth from 16 to 24. Speaking to a practising clinician just last week, ice is now showing up in tox screens of 11- and 12-year-olds. Now is the time to act and we must all push for programs to make our youth aware that taking ice just once, just once, is once too often. All of us have to work together—never mind what side of politics, never mind what level of politics, the whole community has to be on the same page working together.