Review of the Malanda Methadone Clinic

Eligibility - Queensland residents
Principal Petitioner:
Sherrie Hall-Thege
16 Churchill Avenue
MALANDA QLD 4885
Total Signatures - 312
Sponsoring Member: Shane Knuth MP
Posting Date: 28/11/2012
Tabled Date: 28/11/2012
Responded By: Hon Lawrence Springborg MP on 12/12/2013
TO: The Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland

The petition of residents of the State of Queensland and Malanda and surrounds draws to the attention of the House the existence of two methadone providers in the small rural communities of Malanda and Atherton, only 18kms apart.  Since methadone became available in Malanda there is evidence that the program is being abused and once purchased methadone is being on-sold by prescribed users to individuals who are not part of the program.  This has resulted in methadone being administered with syringes and not in the prescribed manner.  There has been a noticeable increase in the number of used syringes found by council workers and now a 7 year old girl has been injured from a discarded contaminated needle and faces an agonising 3 months of testing for blood transmitted diseases.

 

Your petitioners, therefore, ask that the methadone program is removed from the Malanda community and measures are taken to protect our children through used syringe disposal units, soft-fall in our playgrounds and funding for council workers to rake public sand pits daily.