Sep 21, 2026 · 54 min · 20 segments
The Yarra Drug and Health Forum is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year. The Forum was established in 1996, when the Premier’s Drug Advisory Council, chaired by public health expert…
By 1996 I'd been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of North Yarra Community Health, which was the amalgamation of three community health centres that had existed prior to this, the Fitzroy, Collingwood and Carlton, and they're all located in the newly formed city of Yarra.
There was, I think you've described it in your report to the AGM, as a heroin glut.
not a drug specialist, but I think that there was probably a number of factors that contributed to the heroin glut.
Increased law enforcement in traditional markets, making it harder for the traditional markets to export or to place heroin in those markets.
The Taliban originally cracked down on the production of heroin, but during the war, really, they sort of encouraged it to pay for their war.
I remember walking down Smith Street and every second person was being asked, are you chasing? Are you chasing? In other words, are you wanting to buy heroin?
and was chaired by Professor Pennington who was a very well regarded public health expert and became known as the Pennington Report and that was really a very significant report.
There was 31 recommendations but the one that affected us was Recommendation 8 that the state government encourage and support coordination of local responses and establish statewide structures to monitor and advise on the further development of Victoria's drug response and 8.1 was that funds should be made available to support proposals for local community initiatives that focus positively on responding to drug use and misuse.
that local responses were the most effective way of coming to solutions that would be acceptable to local communities, rather than responses that are imposed on them by, you know, state governments, federal governments.
The report had recommendations for policing, they had recommendations for hospitals, they had recommendations for data collection.
As I said, in 1996 I had started working as the CEO of North Yarra Community Health.
The report was released in April, I think, and in May we had a public meeting at the Collingwood Community Health Centre.
By 1996 I'd been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of North Yarra Community Health, which was the amalgamation of three community health centres that had existed prior to this, the Fitzroy, Collingwood and Carlton, and they're all located in the newly formed city of Yarra.
There was, I think you've described it in your report to the AGM, as a heroin glut.
not a drug specialist, but I think that there was probably a number of factors that contributed to the heroin glut.
Increased law enforcement in traditional markets, making it harder for the traditional markets to export or to place heroin in those markets.
The Taliban originally cracked down on the production of heroin, but during the war, really, they sort of encouraged it to pay for their war.
I remember walking down Smith Street and every second person was being asked, are you chasing? Are you chasing? In other words, are you wanting to buy heroin?
and was chaired by Professor Pennington who was a very well regarded public health expert and became known as the Pennington Report and that was really a very significant report.
There was 31 recommendations but the one that affected us was Recommendation 8 that the state government encourage and support coordination of local responses and establish statewide structures to monitor and advise on the further development of Victoria's drug response and 8.1 was that funds should be made available to support proposals for local community initiatives that focus positively on responding to drug use and misuse.
that local responses were the most effective way of coming to solutions that would be acceptable to local communities, rather than responses that are imposed on them by, you know, state governments, federal governments.
The report had recommendations for policing, they had recommendations for hospitals, they had recommendations for data collection.
As I said, in 1996 I had started working as the CEO of North Yarra Community Health.
The report was released in April, I think, and in May we had a public meeting at the Collingwood Community Health Centre.
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