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National double-talk on drug treatment
National talks out of both sides of mouth on drug
treatment
The Government is denying funding
to successful Blenheim and Auckland drug and alcohol
treatment units at the same time as saying such treatment
should be in communities not prisons, says Labour Law and
Order spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove.
“It is hard to believe Corrections Minister Judith Collins can say with a straight face on Close Up (28 June) that drug and alcohol problems should be sorted out within communities, after being part of government decisions to cut off funding to St Marks Adult Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centre and the Care NZ clinic in Otahuhu,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
“The fact is that we have a minister who is good at the macho, but who lacks real solutions to crime prevention or recidivism.
“If she is right --- and she is, of course --- when she says that drugs and alcohol are major drivers of crime in New Zealand, why can’t she champion within cabinet community programmes that work, like St Marks in Blenheim, the Care NZ clinic and the Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society, which has been stripped of national funding and has already shut down in Wellington.
“There’s plenty of gung ho in her approach to crime, but very little in the way of logic,” Clayton Cosgrove said.
“Give her a car to crush and she can get her head around the political brownie points that she can make out of that. But give her a programme designed on a much more complex level to stop people offending or re-offending, and then she can’t quite see where the photo opportunity lies.”
Clayton Cosgrove said drug and alcohol treatment programmes need to occur both within communities and prisons.
“If we are serious about dealing with such major problems, we can’t just rely on the big stick and tough talk any longer. We have to fund programmes that work, not only for people whose lives can be turned around, but for the sake of community safety.
“The sad thing is that National knows what it should be doing. It just doesn’t have the commitment to do it. Talk might seem cheaper than action, but long-term inaction will be far more expensive for individuals and our communities.”
ENDS
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