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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Members Statement
Under this government and this Minister for Mental Health Victoria is now being branded the nation's drug capital. This is the real legacy of the Victorian Labor government. In early 2007 the former Premier and his government assured Victorians that heroin was no longer a problem, and they launched a so-called pre-emptive campaign on the drug ice. In doing so the Labor government ripped $14 million out of the heroin budget and diverted it into a headline-grabbing ice campaign.
At the time I, along with key experts, warned that cutting funds from heroin services was robbing Peter to pay Paul and that it would have disastrous consequences. In terms of the ice campaign, despite the fact the government has been repeatedly asked for details, very little of the $14 million funding for the ice campaign has ever been accounted for.
Importantly, let us have a look at what has happened with heroin. Recently released data by the government in its Victorian Drug Statistics Handbook reveals that in 2007 the number of heroin overdoses and heroin-related deaths have more than doubled in comparison with the previous year, increasing by 104 per cent and 105 per cent respectively. There was also an increase in the number of people needing to be admitted to hospital as a result of heroin.
At exactly the same time as the Labor government was slashing the heroin budget, heroin overdoses and heroin-related deaths were dramatically increasing. It is typical of this government that all advice fell on deaf ears. Our drug awareness and treatment programs are going backwards under this government.
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