Wednesday, 30 May 2018
MOREE, Inverell, Armidale and Tenterfield are among five centres in the Northern Tablelands to win funding to set up local action teams to fight the scourge of drug and alcohol addiction.
The fifth centre is yet to be announced but is believed to be earmarked for Glen Innes.
Local State MP Adam Marshall welcomed the grassroots funding this week and said it would give local teams the tools to tackle local drug and alcohol problems.
“Each of those teams will get an initial $10,000 to develop local solutions to local problems and they’ll work with government and non-government agencies and councils to do that,” Mr Marshall said.
“It’s great news for our communities as drug and alcohol addiction, particularly in young people, is a huge issue in our region.
“The fact we will get five teams for Northern Tablelands gives us great coverage for the region.
“You only need to talk to local police to hear the extent of the problems we face with drug and alcohol addiction.”
Mr Marshall said good local initiatives would now have the resources to fund their projects – and tackle the specific addiction issues in each of those areas with a focus that includes young people and indigenous communities.
“Rather than centralised agencies trying to apply what worked somewhere else we will have local solutions for local problems,” Mr Marshall said.
“When a community is involved in creating the solution, they have ownership over it; they believe in it and fight for it, which are the keys to success in my view.”
The funding comes via the Australian Government and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) for Local Drug Action Teams (LDATs) program and aims to build or extend partnerships in those communities to deliver drug and alcohol harm prevention projects tailored to the needs of the local area.
Mr Marshall said the lead organisations for the new teams in Northern Tablelands are Centacare NENW, NSW Police, Armajun Aboriginal Health Service, Moree Plains Shire Council and the Tenterfield Social Development Committee.