The NSW Government has confirmed it will hold a Drug Summit across regional and metropolitan areas in 2024.
The Drug Summit – an election commitment by Labor – is aimed at addressing the issues faced by people impacted by drugs and alcohol.
Here’s what you need to know.
2024 NSW Drug Summit
Before the last state election in 2023, the NSW Labor Party committed to holding a drug summit if elected.
On Friday, the Minns Government announced the 2024 NSW Drug Summit dates. It will be held across two days in October in regional NSW. The second half of the summit will take place in Sydney on 4 and 5 December. The event will aim to bring together experts, police, people with lived experience, drug user organisations, and families.
The last time NSW hosted a drug summit was in 1999.
Funding
Alongside the summit, the Government also announced $33.9 million in funding for 12 alcohol and drug support organisations in NSW. Half of these organisations will be tasked with building alcohol and drug hubs in regional and rural areas.
The funding is in response to the “Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’”. It recommended more access to treatment services in regional areas and diversion programs. The Minns’ Government’s response to the inquiry said a “health” approach would be used alongside a “criminal justice” response to address drug usage.
Sector response
Mission Australia Sydney is one of the recipients of this funding. It told TDA “there is a real need in both regional and urban communities” for drug and alcohol support and treatment.
The Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies (NADA) said the summit presents an opportunity to replace “outdated drug policies”.
NADA Chief Executive Robert Stirling said there is “evidence that shows what works”, like the pill testing programs in the ACT and Qld.
Opposition
Acting NSW Opposition Leader Damien Tudehope told TDA that the Ice Inquiry “already provides the expert evidence necessary for urgent drug reform.”
Tudehope said the “very same stakeholders” that will be included in the 2024 NSW Drug Summit were “captured by the lengthy and comprehensive ice inquiry.”
The Drug Summit announcement “is a blatant attempt to reinvent the wheel at a significant public expense,” he said.
