Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers  
Pettis Jill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers  
[Volume:615;Page:11004] 
5.  
JILL PETTIS (Labour—Whanganui) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Health 
: What recent announcements has he made to advance the Coalition Government’s National Drug Policy? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Associate Minister of Health) 
:  
Today I have announced the locations of the 15 community action programmes for which I secured funding in last year’s Budget. These programmes are aimed at reducing the demand for drugs. The sites are Whangarei west Auckland Waitakere City Clendon Manurewa central Auckland Otahuhu Otara Papatoetoe Huntly Morrinsville Tauranga Western Bay of Plenty Whakatane Tai Rawhiti Horowhenua Wanganui Dunedin and a regional service that is based in Hastings and runs from Tai Rawhiti across to Whanganui and down to Wellington. 
Jill Pettis 
: Can the Minister please advise the House further on how today’s announcement fits in with the Government’s overall strategy on drugs? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The coalition Government’s war against drugs is multifaceted. At one level we are aiming to reduce supply by toughening up the penalties on the peddlers of dangerous drugs and their precursors. At another level we are increasing treatment services to reduce the harm drugs cause. The third level is the demand-reduction policy programme which is what these community action programmes are aimed at achieving. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Can the Minister confirm that the programmes he mentions are a very good example of the value of targeted funding to provide culturally and socially appropriate services driven by the needs of the communities in which they operate and as a result they are rare in the field of drug education in that they are demonstrably effective? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The needs of particular communities have been carefully assessed by a research-based organisation attached to the Massey University campus in Auckland called Shore. Associated with that research unit is a Maori research unit and an evaluation unit that have both targeted these 15 communities on a range of criteria. The initial five programmes which were started in 1997 by the former National Government were equally targeted. Had they been evaluated as successful they would have been followed up by these programmes. I suggest to the House that they are proving effective they are needs-based and they include both Maori and Pakeha who are affected by drug and alcohol abuse. 
Ron Mark 
: Is he concerned about the comments made by people in the Drug Policy and Education Council who have stated that his “smug” position over the Government’s drug policy is unwarranted and that the policy has acted to increase the availability of methamphetamine to the extent that schoolchildren are reportedly using it and if so will he ensure the passage of new asset-seizure laws to aid the police in bringing suppliers and manufacturers to justice; if not why not? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: No one who is cognisant of the harm that drugs and alcohol abuse cause in our community—in particular to our young people—has any reason for smugness and certainly I do not count myself in those ranks. As I have said this issue is multifaceted and complex but some people want to dine out on making sensationalist statements or making a crisis situation out of what is a worldwide problem that all Governments dealing with it find difficult to handle. I think the agencies that are close to this Government on these matters know full well that we are more proactive and are doing more in this area than any previous Government has ever attempted. 
Judy Turner 
: Will measurement and evaluation of these national drug policy initiatives include an accurate mechanism to measure drug use in the centres funded or are evaluations purely around networking and capacity building? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Researchers have used a wide range of indicators to identify these communities. Drug use is one of them and there are many others. The evaluation is done at a professional and qualified research level. All these programmes have been carefully evaluated and that evaluation is going into the knowledge that this community is building up about its own problems so that this country can have a New Zealand - based approach to solutions to New Zealand problems.