Mr BILLSON (Parliamentary SecretaryForeign Affairs and Trade) (9:33 AM) —I rise today in acknowledgment of Drug Action Week and to pay my tribute to the many selfless and dedicated men and women who work to assist drug and alcohol users in my community to find a more productive, positive and engaging pathway for their lives. Drug Action Week activity leads nicely into the Dunkley drugs need analysis final report, which was funded by the Howard government to do stocktake of the kinds of services and support that are available to people requiring assistance with their drug and alcohol use in our region. It revealed some very interesting findings. First of all, it revealed that there was a very strong recognition and appreciation of the quality and the dedication of the men and women working in the services that already exist. Given this week is Drug Action Week, I would like to draw that to the attention of the House.

An important recommendation, one that I have been almost evangelically pursuing since I was elected, was the crying need for additional residential detoxification and rehabilitation services. It seems odd, and it strikes me as a great hardship, that there are almost twice as many residential detoxification and rehabilitation beds in New South Wales than there are in the state of Victoria. Quite frankly, getting help when you need it should not be like winning lotto.

What we all know and understand is that, when an individual makes the personal and emotional commitment to find a more positive and constructive pathway for their life, to get opportunities back within their reach and to correct some of the errors in terms of missed potential that drugs and alcohol use may have provided, we should be ready to provide that assistance at the time when it is being sought, when the person in need of help is looking for and seeking a partner—someone who can support them at this difficult time to find that more constructive and positive pathway for their life. The report recommends that there is a need to pursue this service and these facilities in the Greater Frankston-Mornington Peninsula region. There is a need to make sure that families are more properly supported.

That leads nicely into a recent announcement I was able to make that Odyssey House Victoria has received some additional funding from the federal government to make sure that families that have a drug or alcohol issue that puts pressure on children are getting support so the children do not become the secondary victims of this insidious disease of excessive drug and alcohol use. I commend Odyssey House for their work and hope that we can partner to have a short-term stay program in the region that I represent that can segue into Odyssey House’s existing programs so that support, services, expertise, encouragement and, particularly, opportunity are available to people suffering from drug and alcohol conditions to make a better choice about their lives and so that we are there as partners to support them and their families at that difficult and challenging time.