People have been urged to have their say on a potential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility at Dubbo, with just 25 survey responses received in three weeks.
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The survey is being conducted by Dubbo MP Troy Grant, with 88 per cent of respondents so far in favour of establishing a local facility.
But responses have been mixed with regard to the location of a centre, with the hospital, the edge of town or Wellington all proposed.
Mr Grant said “I ultimately think we do” need a rehabilitation facility, but he said the low number of responses suggested “it’s not a high priority for people”.
“I think we’ve got more community surveys and it’s only been out a week,” he said.
“Which indicates there’s not really a lot of interest in the subject matter. It’s noisy from a small percentage of the community but 25 responses doesn’t mean there’s a lot of interest.”
He urged people to have their say before the survey closes at the end of June.
Earlier this week the government announced a $5 million contribution towards a new 40-bed drug and alcohol rehabilitation service at Coffs Harbour, in partnership with charity PAYCE Foundation.
Mr Grant said Dubbo would be more likely to secure its own facility if a provider put its hand up – and some cash – to deliver the service.
But he said there were lots of questions to answer before the government could put forward funding.
“The question probably isn’t about whether we need one – ultimately I think we do – the question is: where does it go? Who operates it? How does it run,” Mr Grant said.
”It’s about what is it you’re actually doing? You have a rehab centre, it’s bricks and mortar, in a certain location … a lot of people want services in their town so does it just service Dubbo? What about Narromine? What about Wellington?
“There’s no doubt that the government is putting this high on the priority list, giving access to funding for this, we’ve got a parliamentary inquiry operating at the moment.”
The survey on the Establishment of a Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre in Dubbo closes at the end of June.
To have your say go to www.troygrant.com.au/surveys
The results will be used to inform the current parliamentary inquiry into the provision of drug rehabilitation services in regional, rural and remote NSW.