NSW pledges $10m towards drug reform ahead of 2024 Drug Summit

NSW will spend nearly $10 million to address a “confronting issue” ahead of its highly anticipated drug summit.

Nearly $10m has been pledged for drug and alcohol treatment services in southern NSW a day out from the state’s long awaited drug summit.

The 2024 NSW Drug Summit is set to kick off in Griffith on Friday, led by former NSW Liberal leader John Brogden and former Labor deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt.

Experts have been lobbying for drug reform for years, with pill testing tipped to be a hot topic after Victoria committed to a trial over the summer following the success of similar trials in ACT and Queensland.

The NSW government has pledged $9.3m for drug and alcohol treatment services in the Murrumbidgee region

The NSW government has now announced $9.3m in funding for drug and alcohol treatment services in the Murrumbidgee region ahead of the summit, with NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park calling the services “life changing”.

“Substance use can be a confronting and challenging issue, which is why it’s so important we continue to support community organisations such as Karralika and Directions Health in the essential work they do,” Mr Park said.

“These organisations work hand-in-hand with Murrumbidgee Local Health District’s drug and alcohol services, to provide non-judgemental support, advice and treatment options for all members of our community.”

New post-custodial support programs, provided by Directions Health and the Riverina Medical & Dental Aboriginal Corporation, will be rolled out with the fresh funding.

Designed to minimise the risk of drug dependency and reincarceration for vulnerable community members and support reintegration into the community, the new programs will be given $3.6m in funding.

Community members will receive support before they leave custody which will flow on for an additional 12 months.

Face to face and virtual withdrawal, case management and counselling services provided through Directions Health are set to receive $2m, while $4.24m will be put forth for a counselling service through Karralika for young people, as well as a brand new youth day program.

People aged 12-24 will be eligible for the services, which are expected to support up to 100 people per year.

Mr Park is set to open the summit in Griffith on Friday, with other another session pencilled in for Lismore on Monday and two more to be announced in Sydney in December.

NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park is set to open the 2024 NSW Drug Summit on Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

Health experts, police, drug user organisations and people with lived experiences will offer their perspectives across the four days.

“The summit will cover a range of matters from prevention, to harm minimisation, but treatment is equally as important, and I’m so glad that we’re able to expand access to it in this part of the world,” Mr Park said.

“The Drug Summit will reflect the experiences and expertise from a diverse range of perspectives – we will all contribute, we will all listen and then we will all act.”

However the summit has been criticised, with Griffith Mayor Doug Curran raising concerns that relevant organisations had not been invited.

“I just want to see some real action, I don’t want to see a talkfest, where they acknowledge what the issues are and then leave,” Mr Curran told the ABC.

NSW Premier Chris Minns apologised and offered his assurance that there was no intention to exclude people from the summit.

“I apologise for it, there’s probably not much I can do about it,” Mr Minns said.

“We’ve only got so much time for us to hear evidence.”

It is understood Mr Curran has been invited to the summit.

Originally published as NSW pledges $10m towards drug reform ahead of 2024 Drug Summit