Special commission inquiry into ice pushes for more "compassionate" approach to tackling epidemic

Released yesterday, the report finds the state government's punitive approach has "failed to have any significant impact" on the problem, and instead asks for an "urgent" increase in funding to specialist services to address the "significant unmet demand".

The NSW government said it will "look into" the 109 recommendations, but has already ruled out five of them: more injection clinics, pill testing, ceasing the use of drug sniffer dogs, and needle programs in jails.

Member for Wagga Joe McGirr has criticised the government's hard-line response, saying the report's recommendations were thoroughly backed up by the evidence.

"The government has been sending the message 'simply say no to drugs', and while I agree with that message I don't believe simply saying 'no' has solved our problem. We need to go beyond that," Dr McGirr said.

"People in the grip of this addiction need help, because their families suffer and their communities suffer.

"As long as we keep stigmatising them they're not going to seek help and it's going to drive it underground."

In other news:

Dr McGirr said he still needed time to digest the report but said his first impression was a positive one.

"The report is very comprehensive, and I am encouraged that the government is looking at the other recommendations," he said.

The report was a long time coming for West Wyalong woman Robyn Elms, who has been lobbying the government for better-funded treatment centres and hotlines for years.

Mrs Elms had struggled with ice addiction for 15 years, and following her recovery she met addicts in Wagga who have struggled to get a foot in the door at overcrowded specialist health centres.

"There are way too many people that are needing help for the facilities available," Mrs Elms said.

However, Mrs Elms said it was "wonderful" to see a concrete plan of action finally materialise after all these years.

Mrs Elms said she backed the government's decision to dismiss the five recommendations, saying that the priority should go towards better-funded treatment centres.

The report also recommends all NSW government employees take "trauma-informed" training to understand the point of view of those struggling through addiction, as well as the Aboriginal community.

The NSW government said it would release a final response to the report before the end of 2020.

Wagga's overcrowded rehab centres have warmly welcomed the special commission's inquiry into ice, which is pushing for more services for people struggling with addiction.

Calvary's Drug and Alcohol Centre manager Brendan McCorrey said his centre was "constantly" overbooked, with long waiting lists for people seeking help.

Mr McCorrey said the queues were even longer for specialist groups such as women with children, for whom the waiting list can be six months long.

Those people often have no choice but to wait, since Calvary is Wagga's only in-patient service for people suffering ice addiction.

"The demand is always high and there needs to be more residential treatment," Mr McCorrey said.

"It's good to see the government is considering investing in treatment and expanding the types of treatment they're willing to fund."

However, Mr McCorrey said the government needs to soften its rhetoric, saying they focused too heavily on the 'personal choice' angle.

"If you look at the research, a lot of the people are using because they've had traumatic experiences across their life," Mr McCorrey said.

"Working to decrease the stigmatisation makes it more likely people will engage in treatment."