NATIONALS’ Riverina MP and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack is urging local organisations to apply for funding to help tackle drug issues such as ice in our communities.
The Liberal and Nationals’ Government wants to put more Local Drug Action Teams (LDATs) on the ground to assist in preventing local drug and alcohol issues. Round four of the LDAT program is now open and interested community organisations have until 7 December to get their funding applications in.
Mr McCormack said LDATs provided evidence-based prevention activities to minimise alcohol and other drug related harms in their communities. “I delivered funding to AFL Riverina earlier this year for it to become one of 172 Local Drug Action Teams across Australia,” Mr McCormack said. “The organisation is delivering health prevention activities for the local community, including education, mentoring and support for vulnerable people to minimise their risk of drug-related harm. They also produced a Play Smarter television commercial campaign, which ran during the AFL finals series, with the message for people to make smarter decisions on and off the field.”
The Minister for Regional Services, Bridget McKenzie, said LDATs were supported by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, which helped the LDATs develop and implement primary prevention activities in the community. “This is all about community partnerships working together on a plan of action to prevent and minimize/stamp out the misuse of drugs and alcohol in their town – developing local solutions for local problems,” Minister McKenzie said. “If you want to make a difference in your community, like many LDATs already have, I encourage you to build local partnerships and apply for the program.”
More information about LDATs and the application process can be found on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s website https://community.adf.org.au/implement
