Page 2771 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 13 August 2019

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MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, enough.

Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders—rehabilitation facility

MR MILLIGAN: My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, the 2019-20 ACT budget commits $300,000 for the ACT government and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to co-design a residential service that will support drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Minister, Winnunga Nimmityjah worked with ATODA to design a model of care some years ago for implementation at the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm. Is it now redundant?

MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Milligan for the question. The answer is no, that work is not redundant. Unfortunately, the model of care that was sought by ACT Health at the time—and Minister Fitzharris apologised and explained this in considerable detail—and the model of care that was sought from Winnunga at the time was not a model of care that was able to be delivered at the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm, as a result of the zoning and location of the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm.

The $300,000 that has been allocated in this year’s budget will go to Winnunga, for them to work with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander alcohol and drug provider of their choosing to design the model for residential rehabilitation for the ACT. That will be part of a continuum of care, of which the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm will also form an important part. It is really important to acknowledge that the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm is about a model of healing that specifically recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healing in relation to land, being on country and reconnecting with culture.

MR MILLIGAN: Minister, to what extent will the old model of care be used in the new model of care?

MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Milligan for the supplementary. I probably cannot speak with specific detail, because that is really a matter for Winnunga, but I would be very surprised if the work that Winnunga had done previously was not used to inform this current work.

MRS DUNNE: Minister, will this co-designed residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation service be run at the current Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm or is there another location in mind?

MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mrs Dunne for the supplementary. No, it will not be run at the Ngunnawal Bush Healing Farm. I think the reasons why that cannot be the case have been explained in detail previously. No location is specifically identified at this point. That will be part of the work that Winnunga will undertake to identify what the most appropriate location and service type will be.

Budget—emergency services

MR GUPTA: My question is to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. Minister, how are we helping to put more police on our streets?


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