First NSW Drug Summit Since 1999 Resumes In Sydney
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Health experts, academics, people with lived experience, and other stakeholders have come together in Sydney for the final leg of the 2024 NSW Drug Summit, which is being held for the first time in 25 years.
The summit also included two days of regional forums in Griffith and Lismore in early November.
Premier Chris Minns opened the summit this morning, highlighting the importance of diverse opinions in the pursuit of finding solutions to drug abuse.
“Drugs exist, and drugs will continue to exist after this summit has wrapped up,” he said. “Drugs are a health issue. They’re also a justice issue. They’re a police issue… They’re an issue for people that want a safe and sociable neighbourhood to live in.”
“The best hope for lasting change on any question, but particularly a vexed question like drug policy, is finding points where we agree and we can share a common ground.”
NSW currently has no existing drug policy, with the last one expiring in 2010.
Experts call for Government to commit to change
The state’s last drug summit was held in 1999, while Bob Carr was premier. It introduced radical new drug policies and strategies, and laid the groundwork for a medically supervised injecting facility in Kings Cross, the first to exist in the English-speaking world.
Data from the Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies revealed that almost 2000 people are on waitlists for NGO-provided alcohol and drug treatment services, climbing to 2,667 when accounting for those on multiple waitlists for various service types.
CEO Dr Robert Stirling has said that the Government cannot afford to waste time on reports and platitudes for change, emphasising the urgent need for action.
“My chief concern is that we will see a repeat of the NSW Ice Inquiry, where a report is drafted, handed down, but reform does not eventuate,” Dr Stirling said.
“I am calling on the Premier and his Government to show courage and announce a commitment to act at the end of the Summit which puts us on a path towards meaningful reform.”
The NSW Drug Summit will run over 4 and 5 December, and is being livestreamed.
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