In a robust commentary on the managing of the state’s drug policy the former head of the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’, Professor Dan Howard SC, has penned a second article urging the NSW Government, now under different leadership, to respond to the recommendations of the inquiry he headed.
The op-ed piece, again published in The Sydney Morning Herald, began with saying, ‘ I wonder how many citizens of NSW realise that, for more than a decade now, we have had no formal drug and alcohol policy whatsoever.’
He said the four-volume Report of the Special Commission has been ‘widely embraced by the drug and alcohol sector as a powerful way forward. The NSW Bar Association has endorsed all 109 of its recommendations.
‘This month, the Royal Australian College of Physicians, the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association issued a joint statement calling for a response.’
In mid-2020 NorDocs reported on Prof Howard’s initial disappointment with the then-Berejiklian government’s response.
Now, he has gone one step further: ‘We are calling on the state government to urgently respond to the recommendations, develop a whole-of-government alcohol and drug policy and drug action plan, significantly increase funding of alcohol and drug services and ensure personal addiction issues are treated as health and social issues, not as criminal ones.
‘After releasing a desultory ‘interim’ response in February 2020, rejecting five of the 109 recommendations, the government said it would address the remaining 104 recommendations ‘before the end of the year’ – but 2020 came and went with cabinet apparently unable to reach any agreed position.’
Among the immediate rejections were the advice to open more medically supervised injecting centres, run needle and syringe programs in prisons, allow consumer substance testing (a.k.a. pill testing), notably at music festivals, and end the use of drug detection dogs.
Prof Howard believes ‘the whole thing seems to have fallen into a ‘too hard’ basket and risks being forgotten altogether ... I respectfully urge you, please don’t let this opportunity pass to make an important contribution to this most difficult and challenging of issues.’
Then-Premier Berejiklian had replied, ‘The NSW government is committed to delivering a fulsome response to the inquiry as soon as possible,’ while last December then-Treasurer, now Premier Dominic Perrottet said, ‘The ice inquiry was extensive and the government needs to take its time to get it right.’
Nearly 20 months after the inquiry’s report was delivered the Commissioner is clearly at his wit’s end, writing, ‘The problems identified in my inquiry’s report are only worsening with the impacts of COVID-19 and will continue to worsen as long as the government ignores the imperative of genuine drug policy reform backed up by very substantial increases in the financial resources being allocated to the drug and alcohol sector.’
Noting the commission of inquiry – which held hearings in regional areas including Lismore – cost taxpayers more than $10 million he stressed that ‘its recommendations are in large measure supported by the key medical colleges engaged in drug and alcohol treatment and by the NSW Bar Association.’
He called on the new Premier to ‘show some political courage and leadership by responding to and implementing the report’s recommendations without further delay.’
