Ice rehab centre plan welcomed

A respected drug counsellor and a Broome-based rehabilitation centre boss have backed a State opposition election pledge to open a Kimberley facility dealing with methamphetamine addicts.

The rampant ice problem in the region was laid bare in 2015 when a Federal taskforce visited town to consult with a broad range of including representatives from hospitals, the ambulance service, police, youth, training and various aboriginal medical services.

Broome was selected by the taskforce, as one of eight locations across regional Australia to gather grassroots information on local impacts, effective programs and current efforts to combat the use of ice.

At the time, it was reported that assaults on local ambulance drivers and medicos were increasing because of increased use of the drug.

Milliya Rumurra Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Andrew Amor said Labor’s proposal to make a rehab facility available to those who need it, for as long and as often as they need it, was a “positive step” towards addressing methamphetamine use within the region.

The Whitehaven Clinic program director Tabitha Corser said the Kimberley was one of the state’s fastest growing areas for ice use and more rehabilitation and drug treatment options were urgently needed in country WA.

“There is a massive methamphetamine problem in the Kimberley region, particularly in Broome and into remote indigenous communities, that desperately needs to be addressed,” she said.

“In regional hubs, like Broome, there are simply not enough facilities or rehab beds available to meet the soaring demand for the prolific ice abuse that is happening in these towns.”