Greens spokesperson for Alcohol and Other Drugs Hon Alison Xamon MLC has today welcomed new Government funding to target the supply of meth into WA, but stresses the new money must not be at the expense of other services which are working in the fight against meth.
Ms Xamon said the Meth Helpline, for example, had undergone crippling cuts in the months before this latest funding announcement.
She said people were crying out for help to deal with meth and its devastating effects, but were not always able to access it.
“Even before the Government’s decision to cut $154,000 from the WA Meth Helpline at the beginning of July a quarter of callers were not getting through.,” Ms Xamon said.
“The Meth Helpline is a well-used service that was struggling to meet demand even before the cuts.
“While supporting WA Police in its bid to tackle the ice epidemic is important, the Government must not syphon money from crucial frontline services.”
