Skye Kakoschke-Moore (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

(1) That the Senate notes that:

(a) during the Senate inquiry into the provisions of the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Bill 2017, Professor Alison Ritter, Director, Drug Policy Modelling Program, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, told Senator Kakoschke-Moore: "There was a model that I worked on to develop state-by-state estimates of unmet demand for alcohol and other drug treatment. Those data are theoretically available. The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy said we were not able to release those results and they were not to be made available to anyone who requested them";

(b) Professor Ritter advised the direction to not make the model public occurred in 2014 and again "about 12 months ago"; and

(c) Professor Ritter went on to state: "In my opinion, the concern from the ministerial council was that it would identify the substantial responsibility that the states and territories and the Commonwealth Government needed to start to take in relation to the appalling situation in relation to drug treatment".

(2) That there be laid on the table, by the Minister representing the Minister for Health, by the close of business on 13 September 2017:

(a) the model and technical manual which can be used to generate state-by¬-state estimates of unmet demand for alcohol and drug treatment and rehabilitation services in Australia, which has previously been described as the Drug and Alcohol Clinical Care and Prevention (DA-CCP) Project and the Drug and Alcohol Services Planning Model (DASPM);

(b) any correspondence between the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre and the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy regarding the release of the model and technical manual known as the DA-CCP and DASPM; and

(c) any other documentation relating to use of the model, including any reports and data produced by the Commonwealth using the model.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is not in a position to table the National Drug and Alcohol Clinical Care and Prevention project model and technical report in the Senate as they were commissioned by the COAG Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy, which has now been replaced by the Ministerial Drug and Alcohol Forum. The Minister for Health will write to all of the relevant state and territory ministers on the forum, seeking their consent to release the model. State and territory governments need to be consulted on this matter as it was determined by the previous committee not to release the model.

The Commonwealth government, as part of the National Ice Action Strategy, has provided an additional $241 million for increased drug and alcohol services, with the Commonwealth combined investment in drug and alcohol programs of $685 million.

Question agreed to.