Thursday, 7 April 2022

Ministers statements: Drug Courts

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:11): I would like to update the house on the fantastic opening of the new Ballarat Drug Court, talking of Juliana Addison. I joined her recently as part of a $35 million expansion of the program to bring Drug Courts to regional communities, with courts now operating in Ballarat and Shepparton. The courts provide regional Victorians recovering from drug and alcohol dependencies with specialised court services and support which is obviously closer to home. I know how important this can be for regional communities in particular.

The program’s participants participate on drug and alcohol treatment orders. They must undertake alcohol and drug counselling, comply with drug testing and regularly attend court review hearings, case management and clinical advisory appointments to ensure that they stay on track. The program is far from easy; it is nothing short of life changing. I was so impressed with a recent graduate of the program that attended the opening and spoke about his experience. The young man not only turned his life around but now works with youth who have dependency issues. It is humbling to hear about the real personal difference that the program can make.

We are investing in Drug Courts because we know they work. By addressing underlying factors that contribute to offending and supporting people to reduce alcohol and drug use instead of just punishing them, they are more likely to get their lives back on track and less likely to reoffend. This is backed up by early evaluations of the Drug Court, which showed a 70 per cent reduction in prison time, a 32 per cent reduction in unemployment rates and a 23 per cent reduction in reoffending rates within the first 12 months of completing the program. We also recently opened the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court at the County Court, with further expansions of the Drug Court to be informed by evaluations of the existing and new sites as well as consultation with communities and key stakeholders. But right now I am just so glad that these regional courts are up and running and supporting people in these communities.