Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy Joint Communique 21 November 2003
The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (MCDS), the peak national policy and decision-making body for licit and illicit drugs, met in Adelaide today to consider national licit and illicit drug matters.
The Council comprises the Australian Government and State and Territory Health and Law Enforcement Ministers, including Justice and Police Ministers, and the Australian Government Education Minister. Today’s meeting was chaired by the South Australian Minister for Health, the Hon Lea Stevens MP.
Issues discussed by the Ministers included:
The National Drug Strategic Framework:
Ministers agreed on a new advisory structure and the process for finalising a new National Drug Strategic Framework for the next five years.Tobacco Control:
Ministers endorsed the direction of the current review of health warnings on tobacco products that is being coordinated by the Australian Government Departments of Health and Ageing and Treasury with the assistance of a Technical Advisory Group.Further to this Ministers endorsed the inclusion of the display on tobacco product packaging of the Quitline telephone number.
Ministers also noted the Australian Government’s intention to sign and ratify the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, developed by the World Health Organisation.
Ministers noted the status of the Review of the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 and the Hon Wendy Edmond, Queensland Minister for Health, gave a presentation on Queensland’s Indigenous Tobacco Control Initiatives.
New South Wales Summit on Alcohol Abuse:
NSW reported on the Summit on Alcohol Abuse hosted by the NSW Government in August 2003. Ministers noted that a number of key recommendations concern significant issues such as drinking guidelines and advertising, taxation, research and data, training, the role of the media and diversion approaches. Ministers agreed to refer these issues to a senior officer’s working group and to refer the alcohol taxation issue to the Federal Treasurer.National Drug Strategy Prevention Agenda:
Ministers noted the significant progress, which has been made by the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs (IGCD) Prevention Working Groups and agreed to publish a prevention monograph, The Prevention of Substance Use, Risk and Harm in Australia: A Review of the Evidence as a Department of Health and Ageing paper. The monograph includes a detailed description of the nature of the drug-related harms to be prevented and underlying risky patterns of drug use. It particularly addressed the social determinants of health and drug use, as well as risk and protective factors predicting drug use and their implications for drug prevention initiatives, which might be considered for introduction.Drug Endangered Children Program:
Ministers were given a presentation by WA on the Drug Endangered Children Program currently in operation in the USA to protect children from the dangers of being exposed to the lethal chemicals and by-products of clandestine drug laboratories.Hydromorphone Trial:
Ministers noted the presentation by Mr Simon Corbell, the ACT Minister for Health, concerning a trial of hydromorphone for the management of illicit injecting drug use. At this stage, no other jurisdictions agreed to join ACT in the trial.Review of the Alcohol Self-Regulatory System:
Ministers received a copy of the Report of the National Committee for the Review of Alcohol Advertising (NCRAA) which reported on progress in the reform of the alcohol advertising self regulatory model.The Australian Government is providing for monitoring of advertisements to identify the effectiveness of the implementation of the review recommendations.
Correctional Services Responses to Drug Use:
Ministers noted that the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs will consider a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs on correctional services responses to drug use, when it is available. It was agreed that South Australia and Western Australia would liaise and report on state initiatives at the next meeting.National Comorbidity Initiative:
Ministers noted the progress made to date on the National Comorbidity Initiative and agreed that mental health disorders complicated by alcohol and other drug abuse disorders is a major public health concern.Media contact: Kay McNiece, Media Adviser, MCDS phone: 0412 132 585
Page currency, Latest update: 21 November, 2003
