29th of August 2024, 6:01pm
Legislative Council of Victoria, Melbourne
David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan):
My matter is addressed to the Minister for Mental Health. This Saturday marks International Overdose Awareness Day, a day of action to raise awareness of this worldwide public health crisis and to advocate for overdose prevention. I want to acknowledge the Penington Institute for convening this global event and for their continued advocacy for sensible and humane drug laws.
Penington have also released Australia’s Annual Overdose Report 2024 to coincide with the day. It has some sobering statistics. Overdose deaths continue to increase, and each year we set a new record for the number of drug-induced deaths. This grim record is largely driven by opioids, including dangerous novel synthetic opioids like nitazenes, which now account for 69 per cent of overdose deaths internationally.
In 2022 we recorded 2356 overdose deaths in Australia, 80 per cent of which were unintentional. Since 2008 overdose deaths have exceeded the road toll, and not by some small margin. Around 40 per cent more people die each year from unintentional drug overdoses than are killed on our roads. Both are tragic, but we spend millions every year on reducing our road toll. Where is the bold strategy to set Victoria on a path to zero overdose deaths by 2050?
It does not have to be inevitable that our drug overdose toll continues to rise. The Penington report calls for a comprehensive overdose prevention strategy, one which includes education, ready access to naloxone, more overdose prevention sites, better access to treatment and more drug checking, not just at festivals but in the community.
We warmly welcome the government’s announcement of a drug-checking trial and its plans to roll out naloxone-dispensing units in the community, but we need to do more. The theme of this year’s campaign is Together We Can. It encourages us to stand in solidarity with those affected by the tragedy of overdose and to acknowledge the intense grief felt by those who have lost a loved one.
Overdose deaths are preventable. We can and we should be doing more to avoid this preventable tragedy. So the action I seek is for the minister to develop a comprehensive overdose prevention plan as part of the state’s alcohol and other drugs strategy.
[Awaiting response]
