Mr DUNHAM - 1998-04-28
I refer him to the latest edition of the Australian Reader's Digest. Has he read the article relating to methadone maintenance programs and, if so, does he think it paints an accurate picture of those programs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is no secret that this government is not a supporter ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr BURKE: I put on record that the member for Fannie Bay and also the member for Wanguri are strong supporters of the introduction of the methadone maintenance program in the Northern Territory, along with their cohorts in the local branch of the AMA who have criticised the Northern Territory government on many occasions for its attitude to methadone maintenance programs. The government is very proud of its attitude to these so-called harm-minimisation programs - programs that take a person who is addicted to heroin and addict them to a more dangerous drug, keep them on that drug, continually addicted, and call that some sort of success. That is something the Northern Territory government has been strongly opposed to for many years. It has been pilloried for it in many circles, but it has maintained that attitude proudly.
I draw the attention of honourable members to an article in the May issue of Reader's Digest, which was published last Friday. As members would know, Reader's Digest is a publication of some note with something like 500 000 readers nationally and over 10 000 readers in the Northern Territory. I table that article for the benefit of honourable members. An investigation by that publication into the effectiveness of methadone maintenance programs has uncovered some startling facts. I put these on the record for the benefit of Territorians. The article sets the scene, saying:
The federal government and state health authorities have increased the number of patients on the 'methadone program'
by 15% a year since endorsing it in 1985. Australia's heroin addicts are now among the world's highest per capita
consumers of methadone, using over 95 000 L last year. The annual cost to taxpayers, according to data supplied by
the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), has grown to almost $50m ...
A 1991 NDARC survey of 95 Sydney methadone patients found that two-thirds continued to inject heroin. Moreover,
methadone is just as dangerous and, many users say, more addictive than heroin.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect is the anecdotal evidence gathered by Reader's Digest from addicts themselves:
In November 1992, 23-year-old David McKay admitted himself to a hospital in Port Macquarie NSW to kick his methadone
addiction. To help him through the withdrawal, McKay kept a diary. 'Methadone in my pretty wide experience is definitely
worse, longer and more intense than any withdrawal I've done', he wrote.
The article argues for and advocates withdrawal programs - the sort of programs we have in the Northern Territory - and makes some interesting recommendations. It recommends that the federal Minister for Health, Dr Michael Wooldridge, and his state counterparts follow the lead of the Northern Territory in recognising that methadone maintenance is an ineffective treatment for heroin addiction and that, until policy makers accept methadone's many shortcomings, the drug will continue to kill or condemn hundreds of addicts to a life of misery. That is what the opposition and the Northern Territory branch of the AMA would do: kill or condemn hundreds of addicts to a life of continuing misery. They would endorse a program which keeps people addicted, costs the taxpayers a fortune and has no real effect in dealing with the problem.
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ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is no secret that this government is not a supporter ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr BURKE: I put on record that the member for Fannie Bay and also the member for Wanguri are strong supporters of the introduction of the methadone maintenance program in the Northern Territory, along with their cohorts in the local branch of the AMA who have criticised the Northern Territory government on many occasions for its attitude to methadone maintenance programs. The government is very proud of its attitude to these so-called harm-minimisation programs - programs that take a person who is addicted to heroin and addict them to a more dangerous drug, keep them on that drug, continually addicted, and call that some sort of success. That is something the Northern Territory government has been strongly opposed to for many years. It has been pilloried for it in many circles, but it has maintained that attitude proudly.
I draw the attention of honourable members to an article in the May issue of Reader's Digest, which was published last Friday. As members would know, Reader's Digest is a publication of some note with something like 500 000 readers nationally and over 10 000 readers in the Northern Territory. I table that article for the benefit of honourable members. An investigation by that publication into the effectiveness of methadone maintenance programs has uncovered some startling facts. I put these on the record for the benefit of Territorians. The article sets the scene, saying:
The federal government and state health authorities have increased the number of patients on the 'methadone program'
by 15% a year since endorsing it in 1985. Australia's heroin addicts are now among the world's highest per capita
consumers of methadone, using over 95 000 L last year. The annual cost to taxpayers, according to data supplied by
the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC), has grown to almost $50m ...
A 1991 NDARC survey of 95 Sydney methadone patients found that two-thirds continued to inject heroin. Moreover,
methadone is just as dangerous and, many users say, more addictive than heroin.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect is the anecdotal evidence gathered by Reader's Digest from addicts themselves:
In November 1992, 23-year-old David McKay admitted himself to a hospital in Port Macquarie NSW to kick his methadone
addiction. To help him through the withdrawal, McKay kept a diary. 'Methadone in my pretty wide experience is definitely
worse, longer and more intense than any withdrawal I've done', he wrote.
The article argues for and advocates withdrawal programs - the sort of programs we have in the Northern Territory - and makes some interesting recommendations. It recommends that the federal Minister for Health, Dr Michael Wooldridge, and his state counterparts follow the lead of the Northern Territory in recognising that methadone maintenance is an ineffective treatment for heroin addiction and that, until policy makers accept methadone's many shortcomings, the drug will continue to kill or condemn hundreds of addicts to a life of misery. That is what the opposition and the Northern Territory branch of the AMA would do: kill or condemn hundreds of addicts to a life of continuing misery. They would endorse a program which keeps people addicted, costs the taxpayers a fortune and has no real effect in dealing with the problem.
Page 207
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016