00:00 In the 90s, there was a...
00:02 The sniffing problem was really rife in remote communities.
00:05 There was a huge range of people sniffing petrol
00:09 from, you know, 45-year-olds to five-year-olds.
00:12 You know, it was impacting on health and impacting on education,
00:15 impacting on the criminal justice system,
00:17 impacting on family cohesion and happiness.
00:22 There was so much damage being caused by petrol sniffing,
00:26 but there was no agency who had petrol sniffing in their sites.
00:31 Nothing really systematic was able to be done.
00:34 So a bunch of people, including myself, formed an advocacy group -
00:40 CALUS - Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service -
00:42 which is an agency that was formed to stop petrol sniffing
00:46 and to improve the quality of life of kids in remote communities
00:50 so that they wouldn't have to sniff
00:52 and they wouldn't be drawn to sniffing and other substance abuse.
00:55 The solution to this problem had two stages.
00:57 The first stage we rolled out very successfully,
01:00 which was low aromatic fuel.
01:03 Opal was the first one.
01:04 BP developed this unsniffable fuel
01:06 at the request of the federal government,
01:09 and kids just couldn't...couldn't get high from sniffing it anymore.
01:13 So that's the first half of the solution, is the supply reduction.
01:16 And then the second half, which we're still engaged in,
01:19 is trying to address the factors that push them towards sniffing,
01:23 like we could reduce sniffing in a community by 50%
01:26 if there was a youth program there,
01:28 because often people were sniffing because there was nothing else to do.
01:32 Youth programs are really important in remote communities
01:35 because they're an inclusive and friendly space.
01:38 We set up computer rooms for kids and Wi-Fi hotspots,
01:41 and we sort of, like, do some IT training
01:46 in fun things for kids to do,
01:48 and we know it works when it sort of takes off virally.
01:51 I don't think there's ever been a health initiative
01:53 that's been so successful,
01:55 like 95% reduction in substance misuse.
01:59 It's outstanding, and it reflects really well
02:02 on the community acting together the way it did.
02:06 If I could achieve the goals that I think are really achievable,
02:10 then remote communities would become fantastic places to live
02:14 and where there was good food, good education, good employment.
02:19 It is possible to make life better for kids out bush.
02:23 It's quite possible, and it's really important to do so.
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