The Liberal Government has today chosen to publicly release the final report into drug services in the North West.
This report has looked at the evidence, listened to communities and intensively consulted with stakeholders.
It makes a number of findings, the main one being that while methamphetamine use appears to be increasing across Tasmania, there is no evidence of an ice epidemic in the North West, with alcohol and cannabis the primary drug concerns in the region.
The report also makes a number of recommendations in how we respond to drug and alcohol issues, including;
o enhance service treatment responses by improving access and capacity, including to rehabilitation beds, particular for residents of North West Tasmania;
o strengthen the capacity of the community to identify and respond to drug use issues;
o improve service collaboration;
o strengthen governance arrangements; and
o improve mechanisms that impact on the supply of, and demand for, illicit drugs.
A number of recommendations can be achieved using existing resources while others, including more rehab beds, have funding implications.
We will look at ways of progressing these solutions over the coming months, bearing in mind we inherited a Budget mess with $1.1 billion in cumulative deficits and a health system left broken by Labor and the Greens.
The report identifies gaps in service delivery we inherited from the former Government and which we are addressing through our reform into a single, statewide health system.
It's only by fixing the Budget mess that we can afford essential services in future and we have a long term Plan for Tasmania to do just that.
This Government won't abandon regional health needs like Labor did and we look forward to working with the North West community to deliver the health outcomes they deserve.
The report can be found at http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/mentalhealth/alcohol_and_drug