Thursday, 29 August 2024

Drug Advisory Council of Australia

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (09:56): As our President has noted, joining us today in the gallery is former member for Eastern Metropolitan Region Jan Kronberg, now the national president of the Drug Advisory Council of Australia, or DACA. Jan is joined by very special young Victorians Stacey Mubaira, Matilda Hope and Charlie Ryan, who are three of the dedicated Victorian youth ambassadors of DACA. DACA is a harm prevention charity, and its youth ambassadors are being trained to deliver peer-to-peer drug and personal resilience training. They display a splendid commitment to the cause of effectively pushing back against the momentum to have illicit drugs decriminalised, legalised and, most sinister of all, normalised. Recently I have had the pleasure of hearing their speeches and watching how they connect and convey their knowledge of the dangers of illicit drugs. Their anecdotal stories from school and university are extremely troubling. Like DACA, the notion of working upstream in the prevention space is critical now. As more young people are succumbing, drug addiction is increasing. I firmly believe that this peer-to-peer approach will be a successful means of ensuring that many young Victorians will not fall for the siren song of the drug peddlers. Imparting their knowledge of the menace of illicit drugs – which lead to a constellation of mental health problems, impaired brain development and chronic ailments – can save lives and futures. So on your behalf I applaud Stacey, Matilda and Charlie and thank them.