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Six months after the NSW Government’s Drug Summit review flagged Wollongong for an expanded Drug Court, Matt Ward is still waiting on a funding commitment. He unpacks the roadblocks, including Illawarra Shoalhaven Health’s need for additional funding to deliver wraparound treatment services, the roughly $20 million cost of standing up a regional Drug Court, and a two-year rise in methylamphetamine offending of 36% in Wollongong and 112% in Shellharbour.
Interviewer:You have been advocating in the space for a Drug Court for a long time, and we know that the Drug Summit and the review by John Brogden and Carmel Tebbutt recommended specifically that Wollongong receive a Drug Court. The government’s response, that time is sort of quickly passing. Where do we find ourselves in this question? Would you like to hear a bit more from the government on this issue now?
Matt Ward:Oh, absolutely I would, and I’m sure all of the Illawarra and South Coast would like to hear a response as well. As you rightly point out, there was a priority action listed to expand the Drug Court to a number of areas, Wollongong being one of them, and hopefully we hear something from the government with some clarity about how and when they’re going to do that.
Interviewer:I guess it’s been sort of six months, so do you think the time has come for the government to put its cards on the table here now?
Matt Ward:Yeah, as I understand it the six months will expire early next month, I think Thursday, but absolutely we are very close to the six month period and we are all waiting with bated breath for the Labor government to hold strong with its promises in relation to helping the people of Wollongong, the Illawarra and the South Coast.
Interviewer:So there technically are a couple more days that the government might make an announcement on this around. You had a fantastic forum that you organised with some of the really remarkable judiciary that we have in the region, and lawyers like yourself, and health officials and local MPs. It was amazing, a long time ago now I guess. You had a few actions on the table, and one of those was to write to the Attorney General and press for the case. Can you talk to me about some of the things you’ve done since that meeting, in particular the communication you’ve had with the AG?
Matt Ward:Absolutely, so we’ve written to the AG and a number of other members of Parliament in relation to the Drug Court and its expansion to this area, as well as some other tweaks to some regulations that could also help the people of this region access what’s called the Compulsory Drug Treatment Program, which is a program in custody. We’ve received a generic response but sadly no further action, but I think the momentum continues to be pushed by both us and the community, and the more we can continue to lobby for it, both from our perspective but from a community perspective, it’s not something that’s going to go away. The more it’s talked about, the more it gets identified how much the Illawarra and South Coast need the Drug Court program.
Interviewer:You were also reaching out to Illawarra Shoalhaven Health with the hopes that they could support the Drug Court with the necessary accommodation that might be required under any treatment program. Are you aware of any conversations that have happened there, and how that might be progressing?
Matt Ward:There’s certainly been some conversations, and I’ve had contact directly with people in that organisation. The message is fairly clear, and that is that they cannot facilitate it with their current funding, and to be able to properly facilitate it and make the program work, they would need additional funding from the government. So it really comes down to the government announcing the funding that’s required to expand the Drug Court to the region, and then fund those wraparound services to make this as good as we know it can be.
Interviewer:Do you have any sense at this stage of what that cost might be, establishing the Drug Court, whatever infrastructure or capital that might require, and then the additional health wraparound services? Has that been made clear to you at this stage?
Matt Ward:It hasn’t been made particularly clear, mostly because each Drug Court would depend a little bit on the region in which it’s created. One of the challenges may be the location of where the court is created physically, but that can likely be resolved. If you look at other regions, the most recent region committed roughly about $20 million over a four year period. I’d expect it might be something similar, potentially a little bit less depending on where they can place the physical courtroom, but again this was identified as a priority action, and the amount it is costing taxpayers, the amount it is costing people, the cost to victims of drug-related crime, it far outweighs that figure long-term for the community in which we live.
Interviewer:What are the statistics showing for our region?
Matt Ward:The statistics for this area continue to be alarming, particularly for the possession of methylamphetamine. The two-year trend for Wollongong for that offence is up 36%. Shockingly, in Shellharbour the use and possession of amphetamine, the two-year trend is up 112%, so just under 60% per year. Whilst the community, as we all do, love Wollongong, love the Illawarra, love the South Coast, love Shellharbour, there’s this real issue here with the use of prohibited drugs, especially methylamphetamine, and how that flows into criminal activity. If we can help address that, we make the community better for all who live in it and all who want to come and be a part of it. So hopefully we can see some action from the government to make the community and the court system in which we work better for everyone.
Interviewer:It must be really heartbreaking to be having this argument but seeing those rates increase, knowing how well the Drug Courts have worked in other regions, and the impact it could be having, when you see statistics like that, Matt.
Matt Ward:Absolutely, and it makes it even harder when you’ve got individual people in jail or otherwise who are asking you, and their families are asking you, about this program, showing a dedication and a real willingness to change, but the response is you can’t do that because you live in the Illawarra, or Shellharbour, or the South Coast, and that’s the only reason. Postcode justice is a phrase that’s been used before, and was used in our roundtable, but when it comes down to the government funding it, it’s a very sad discussion to have with people who would generally speaking benefit from this sort of program.
Interviewer:I don’t know if it’s related or not, or if you can reflect on this. We’ve certainly noticed trial dates blowing out. In our court reporting, we’ve seen trial dates blowing out to 2027 now for some matters. Would a Drug Court alleviate some of the pressure on what we’re seeing happen in the courts in Wollongong, and the impact on alleged complainants and victims and perpetrators, and the system itself, and what’s going on with people being held in custody for long periods of time while they’re waiting for justice to take shape?
Matt Ward:I think it certainly has some impact. We must remember that the Drug Court is only available for certain types of offenders and scenarios, but absolutely it would move offenders out of the Local Court, but also their proceedings out of the District Court, including appeals, including some sentences absolutely, which could free up some time. What impact exactly that would have, I think it would have some positive impact certainly, but whether it would completely resolve the delay that’s currently present in the District Court at Wollongong, I think is another question. But fingers crossed, we’ll know the answer to that question sometime soon.