COMMITTEES
Ms MILLER-FROST (Boothby) (10:55): As a community, Australia continues to underestimate the economic, social and health toll of alcohol and drug consumption. For many, drinking alcohol is our national pastime. In my home state of South Australia, research in the past half decade suggests that four out of five South Australian adults self-report that they do consume alcohol.
Culturally, it is a norm. Older Australians are more likely to consume alcohol than younger Australians. I guess the good news from that is that the data shows that younger Australians seem to be drinking less.
Maybe the culture is changing. However, the consumption of other drugs, like stimulants, opioids and other pharmaceuticals, is on the rise, and the flow-on effects can be devastating. Addiction to alcohol and other drugs can have an impact on family and work and is a leading cause of illness and death.
Overdose deaths are not infrequent. In fact, overdose deaths caused by illicit drugs are consistently double the national road toll every year. In a previous role, I worked in a health service that saw a lot of people seeking narcotics.
I saw the impact it had on their lives, with formerly functional people spending literally their entire waking lives moving from service to service, doctor to doctor, desperately trying to access more drugs. In the obituaries, we would see their names—passed in their sleep. The Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability's report on the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia is a timely reminder that alcohol and other drugs remain a present threat to the health and safety of Australians.
The findings are sobering. The committee's report notes that alcohol alone is estimated to cost Australia tens of billions of dollars each year through illness, injury, workforce losses, family violence, crime and premature death. It also highlights the increase in drug related harms, including the tragic reality that overdose deaths have exceeded the national road toll for around a decade.
Opioids remain the leading cause of overdose deaths, while stimulant use is an increasing concern. Behind every statistic is a person. Behind every hospital admission is a family.
Behind every death is a community left grieving. That is why the government begins from the principle that alcohol and other drug misuses are fundamentally a health issue, requiring evidence based prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support and harm reduction measures. That is why a review of the National Drug Strategy is imperative.
The inquiry was tasked with examining whether current policy settings appropriately support the prevention, reduction and recovery of alcohol and other drug related harms. The National Drug Strategy is a 10-year framework that aims to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs through a coordinated strategy of demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction.
This framework guides governments, health professionals and community organisations working with people with lived experience to work together to reduce the harms associated with alcohol and other drugs. A public health approach to this problem recognises that no single intervention is sufficient on its own, hence demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction.
Demand reduction focuses on preventing harmful use before it starts and supporting people to help to seek help early without stigma. This means education, public awareness, early intervention services and investments in treatment pathways. Supply reduction aims to limit the availability of harmful substances through effective regulation and enforcement, and harm reduction acknowledges a simple but important reality: reducing deaths, injuries and illness must remain a priority, regardless of where a person is on their recovery trajectory.
These principles have guided Australian drug policy for decades because they are evidence based, practical and focused on improving health outcomes, and this report strongly reinforces this health focused approach. It recognises the importance of improving treatment access, strengthening the alcohol and other drugs workforce, supporting prevention initiatives and ensuring services are available to those who need them most, including people living in rural and regional Australia, First Nations communities and other priority populations facing additional barriers.
One of the report's most significant areas of focus is alcohol harm. Alcohol remains the most widely used drug in Australia and, as the committee found, contributes substantially to illness, injury, violence and social harm. The report therefore recommends stronger regulation of alcohol advertising and marketing, particularly to reduce children and vulnerable groups' exposure to it.
It calls for a new, mandatory national regulatory framework, improved oversight and stronger protections in the collection and use of personal data for alcohol marketing. These recommendations align closely with the government's commitment to protecting public health and ensure that commercial interests do not undermine the wellbeing of Australians. The report also recommends a review of alcohol taxation settings, better collection of alcohol retail data and the development of national standards for online alcohol sales and delivery.
These recommendations recognise that effective policy must be informed by good evidence and adapt to changing consumer behaviours and technologies. In my home state of South Australia, the state government has recently passed laws to change alcohol delivery, ceasing 24/7 delivery and limiting it to 10 am to 10 pm, and implementing a mandatory two-hour delay for any same-day order and delivery.
But this is state based legislation and would require other states to follow suit if they wished to impose similar limits. This inquiry also highlights the need to improve support for people experiencing alcohol and other drug dependence. Recovery is not linear.
People often face complex challenges involving mental illness, housing insecurity, unemployment, family stress and social disadvantage. The report recognises that our response must therefore be holistic and person centred. It is not enough to treat one aspect of a person's circumstances if the broader drivers of disadvantage remain unaddressed.
People lead complex, multifaceted lives. They cannot be reduced to one diagnosis or one issue—hence any interventions, in order to be effective, need to recognise how people live their lives. The report also plays significant emphasis on prevention.
It's a truism in public health that $1 of prevention saves $9 of costs down the track. Every dollar invested in effective prevention reduces future costs across health care, emergency services, policing and social services. More importantly, prevention saves lives and prevents suffering before it occurs.
It saves in human costs. The report also discusses the need to reduce stigma. Stigma around alcohol and drug misuse remains one of the greatest barriers to treatment and recovery.
Too many Australians delay seeking help because they fear judgement, discrimination or shame. We know that substance dependence is a health condition, we know that treatment works and we know that people achieve better outcomes when they can access care in a supportive environment. A modern health system must meet people where they are, support them with dignity and provide pathways to recovery that are affordable and accessible.
The report also acknowledges the invaluable contribution of clinicians, peer workers, community organisations, researchers, lived-experience voices and families. Their experience, expertise and dedication are essential to achieving the goals of the National Drug Strategy. Effective policy is strongest when it is informed not only by evidence but also by the lived experience of those directly affected by alcohol and other drug harms.
This report does not present alcohol and other drugs policies as a simple challenge with a simple solution. It recognises the complexity of the issue and the need for coordinated national action across governments, services and communities. That is why the framework provided by the National drug strategy remains fundamentally important.
By reducing demand, limiting harms and supporting recovery, we can improve health outcomes, strengthen families and build safer communities. By investing in prevention, treatment and evidence based policy, we can save lives. By reducing stigma, we can ensure that more Australians seek and receive the support they need when they need it.
Through the continued implementation of the National drug strategy, we can create a healthier Australia where fewer people experience alcohol and other drug harms, more people are supported in recovery and every Australian has the opportunity to live a safe, healthy and fulfilling life. This report provides a valuable roadmap for future reform, and I look forward to the government's ongoing consideration of its recommendations.
I commend the report to the House.