At the MCEETYA (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs) meeting held in Adelaide on 22 - 23 April 1999, all Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers agreed to establish a taskforce to consider how drug issues in schools can be better managed.
The Tasmanian Government and the Department of Education welcome this initiative as it is acknowledged that while schools are making great efforts in drug education they cannot deal with all drug education issues alone.
The State Government, through the Department of Health and Human Services, has allocated resources to assist with preventative strategies in schools as well as intervention and counselling services. Additionally, the Commonwealth Government will provide resources to Tasmania to assist with the implementation of the National Illicit Drug Strategy "Get Tough on Drugs" campaign.
As part of the Tasmanian Drug Strategic Plan the salaries of three people have been provided to assist Tasmanian schools with the development and implementation of teaching and learning strategies, as well as incident management processes. Many schools and colleges would already have used these individuals to assist with the harm minimisation approach to drug education.
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For those schools or colleges that need further support and advice on drug education issues the following contact details are provided:
- Arthur and Barrington Districts
Greg Wilson
C/- Penguin High School
Phone: 6437 2651
- Esk District
John Alford
Drug Education Network
Phone: 6334 0445
- Hartz, Derwent or Bowen Districts
Elvie Hales
Drug Education Network
Phone: 6228 9144
I am confident that schools and colleges that utilise the services of the three statewide drug education officers will be adopting the most appropriate strategy to deal with drug education issues and I would encourage all Principals to seek their advice. Additionally, District Superintendents are always available for any advice or guidance on dealing with drug related issues. It is also important that you keep your District Superintendent informed if you have a serious drug related incident at your school or if you are planning a school wide illicit drug initiative. It is only by working together that we can get across the message that we don't want drugs in our schools or in our community.
This website for drug education, with useful links to departmental policies and guidelines and to EdNA (Education Au) websites on drug education, will provide a useful and easy reference for teachers, parents and students who want to find out more about "getting tough on drugs".
June 1999
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Medical and health care
Drug education