National Drug and Alcohol Awards

Celebrating Australian achievements to prevent
and reduce alcohol and other drug use and harm

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Outback Aboriginal stockman wins Prime Minister’s award for drug treatment program

An aboriginal stockman who has provided an outback haven for young people to escape the harmful influences of petrol abuse, has won the Prime Minister’s Award at the second annual National Drug and Alcohol Awards held in Sydney tonight.

Mr Barry Abbott, of the Ilpurla Aboriginal Association, has operated a treatment outstation in a remote south-west corner of Central Australia for young people since the 1970s.

A stockman by trade, Mr Abbott has opened his door and his heart to hundreds of young Aboriginal people and has given them guidance to get back on track at his outstation on the Finke River.

His dedication and success earned him the top honour at tonight’s gala award ceremony held in Sydney. The National Drug and Alcohol Awards are held each year to encourage, recognise and celebrate Australian achievements to prevent and reduce drug use and associated harms. They are held on the last night of Drug Action Week® 2005, the premier event to raise awareness about alcohol and other drug issues

Panels of expert judges examined several categories for tonight’s awards and the following winners were also announced:

Excellence in Prevention: Drugs Policy and Services Branch, Department of Human Services, Victoria, for "Temazepam injection: ending the Australian epidemic" program.
Excellence in Treatment: Odyssey House, NSW
Excellence in alcohol and drug media reporting: Alison Dean from Metropolis Media for ‘Sex, drugs and specialised care’ in the Emerald Hill Times and ‘Loving alcohol to death’ in the Melbourne Times.
Excellence in Law Enforcement: New South Wales Police and Hunter New England Area Health Service for "The Alcohol Linking Program".
Excellence in Services for Young People: Streetwize Communications, NSW

The awards are a collaborative effort of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, the Ted Noffs Foundation, the Australian Drug Foundation and the Australian National Council on Drugs.

This year the awards are sponsored by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing and the NSW Government.

Media enquiries:

Gino Vumbaca, Executive Officer, Australian National Council on Drugs
Mb: 0408 244 552

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