Dear Mr Abbott
With four weeks to the Federal Election on Saturday, 7 September 2013, I am certain the Opposition Parties want to make every policy announcement count to convince voters that they deserve to be elected to Government. Currently, service providers in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) field, and the clients they serve, have a genuine concern about the outcome of this election, and in particular the drug policies that the Opposition Parties will implement should they be elected.
This should be a strategic policy issue for the Opposition as many prevention and treatment services, as well as the unidentified hundreds of thousands who need help on a daily basis, are in crucial marginal electorates. This is vital, not only for this election where every vote will count, but for the future economic, health, and wellbeing of all Australian communities.
As the national peak body for AOD advocacy, the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA), has in the past respectfully asked the Opposition and other Political Parties to commit to taking or supporting urgent and decisive action on a number of fronts relating to alcohol, other drugs, harm minimisation, and funding. ADCA strongly urges the Opposition to tell the voting public:
- What priority action is being taken, or intended to be taken, to turn around the “drinking to get drunk” culture in Australia, which next to tobacco, causes the greatest level of harm in our communities, with a cost estimated at $36 billion annually?
- What is being done, or planned, to maintain policy reform in relation to other drugs, including the misuse of prescription and non-prescription pharmaceutical products, and priority issues relating to harm minimisation?
- Is the Opposition committed to maintaining a bipartisan approach to the National Drug Strategy, and focus on AOD policies, not the politics?
- Can the Opposition provide national leadership to avoid the populist approach, challenge historical perceptions of drug users, take on the alcohol industry to which governments at all levels have for too long been beholden, and take action that may be counter intuitive but is supported by evidence?
Mr Abbott, in 2009 we were told that just two per cent of the health funding was spent on prevention, and 70 per cent on acute care. Given the significant share of those funds are swallowed up by treatment of AOD problems, placing greater emphasis on preventive programs makes sense – rather than spending a fortune on picking up the pieces post disaster.
To show true leadership, ADCA urges the Opposition to immediately focus on Australia’s growing community health crisis as an election strategy, and to stand up and be counted.
Yours sincerely
David Templeman, CEO
8 August 2013
