Conference & Speakers

 

Michele A’Court - Winner of “Female Comedian of the Decade” at the 2010 NZ Comedy Guild Awards, Michele A’Court is a fulltime professional stand-up comedian and freelance writer.

Her work turns up everywhere - on stage, television, radio, and on the page. And she is in demand not only as a comic, but also as a social commentator across all media.

Michele is a regular guest on TV3’s current affairs comedy show, “7 Days”; on Radio NZ National’s “The Panel” with Jim Mora; and “9 to Noon” with Kathryn Ryan and Te Radar. Michele also reviews books for Radio NZ National and the NZ Listener.

Michele writes a weekly column for the Christchurch Press and relishes the opportunity to write on current social issues. She is also a frequent contributor to several national magazines including Next, Metro, and Her Business; and she has a regular column for the bi-monthly In-Business magazine.

As an after-dinner speaker, event host and conference MC, Michele’s hundreds of corporate clients over the past decade include financial advisors, health care workers, classical musicians, IT specialists, plumbers, insurance specialists, bankers, builders, lawyers, electrical workers, travel agents and scientists.

Michele first came to NZ’s attention more than 20 years ago as the award-winning host of What Now, the children’s TV show which aired live for two hours each week, and The Video Dispatch, a current affairs programme aimed at youth but, according to legend, was the “must-see TV show” for NZ’s politicians.
Her international experience as a stand-up comedian includes shows at festivals in Edinburgh, Melbourne, Adelaide and NZ – shows which have dealt with the war on terror, national and international politics, life, love and laughter. Michele also performed for the troops in East Timor back in 2001.

Michele has a raft of awards from various comedy festivals. And as a veteran of NZ’s comedy industry, she is an artistic assessor for Creative NZ, and a judge of the annual Billy T Comedy Award.
 

Kevin Hague - Kevin came to Parliament in 2008 directly from his work as the Chief Executive of the West Coast District Health Board. He was previously Executive Director of the NZ AIDS Foundation and has extensive experience in the health sector. For example, he was a member of the National Health Committee (2001-05) and Chair of the NZ Public Health Advisory Committee (2002-04). Kevin is the Green Party Spokesperson for Health and Alcohol & Other Drugs.

Sue Paton -  Early Intervention Manager, Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand’s (ALAC). Sue is leading the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand’s (ALAC) approach to increase the uptake of early intervention. She has been successful at getting alcohol screening and brief intervention (SBI) on primary health agenda. She has also overseen the implementation of the Whanganui Regional PHO ABC alcohol trial, innovative projects (such as the electronic SBI that has been successfully tested and rolled out in New Zealand Universities nationally) and for leading a range of other work in alcohol brief interventions. Sue has also managed the development of early intervention resources including Smashed n Stoned, Bewildered, Ki te ao mārama and Like a Drink. Prior to ALAC Sue worked as a counsellor with young people and their whānau.

Abstract:
Children are New Zealand’s greatest asset but also our most vulnerable citizens. Decisions taken by adults impact on our children’s lives and futures. One of the factors that place our children at risk is alcohol - New Zealanders' drug of choice. Most of us drink, and a large proportion of us drink to excess. When parents or other family members drink children can suffer the consequences. In fact, even if drinking is relatively moderate the risk of harm to children through injury is increased. So what can we do about this? If New Zealand families are to provide a safe environment for their children, we need to proactively identify people who are drinking problematically and support them to make changes. Currently only one percent of New Zealanders are accessing specialised alcohol and other drug treatment services. Early intervention provides a way for us to proactively identify parents, caregivers who are drinking hazardously and provide effective evidence-based intervention that will impact positively on the individual, whanau and community. ALAC Early Intervention Manager Sue Paton will discuss opportunities for community-based early intervention.

Kina Trust and Matua Raki - Think Parent, Think Family - Evidence shows that responding to people with addiction related problems as parents, results in better outcomes for their children, the family and enhances the individual’s own recovery journey.  This presentation introduces a set of resources to assist addiction practitioners in responding more effectively to parents, caregivers and their children. We will also identify how these resources can be used by those who are not addiction specialists in their work with families experiencing addiction related problems.

Matua Raki, the National Addiction Workforce Development Centre, identified a need for some resources that supported addiction services to better and more effectively work with parents, families and children. Matua Raki funded Kina Trust, in their capacity as drivers of family inclusive service development to identify the key components required in the resources. Current literature was reviewed and consultation with consumers who were parents, in a range of treatment settings was undertaken. Other key informants provided cultural and clinical perspectives. The research confirmed that the relationship between substance use, parenting, recovery and child wellbeing is complex and influenced by several inter-related factors. The aim of the Think Parent, Think Family resources is to guide addiction practitioners through this complexity to effectively respond and support both child and parent wellbeing.


Catherine Inder - Ministry of Health. I am a Senior Advisor in the Addiction Treatment Services Team in the Mental Health Service Improvement Group at the Ministry of Health. For a number of years I was a lawyer specialising in family and disability law, representing predominantly legally aided clients who had experienced multiple kinds of disadvantage. For the last 8 years I have worked in policy and advisory roles for the Mental Health Commission, the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) and the Ministries of Health and Social Development (Child, Youth and Family).



Suzy Morrison -  Family Services Coordinator, Community Alcohol and Drug Services (CADS).

Affected Family Members' - Because alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems are highly prevalent in our society the number of relatives affected is very high hence it is important to develop strategies to meet their needs”. (Copello & Orford) 2000

It is well researched and documented that problematic AOD use can have a negative impact not only on the person who is using AOD. It also impacts on those alongside them, including children. People living in close proximity to those with AOD problems experience significant ongoing stress which often manifests itself in terms of physical and psychological symptoms.

So, how do CADS as an AOD service, respond to this? How do we support young people affected by someone else’s problematic AOD use? CADS Pregnancy and Parental Service (PPS) is a mobile team which provides AOD assessment and support to pregnant women and parents of children under 3 years of age.

Altered  High is CADS mobile youth service, working with young people aged between 13 – 20 years of age concerned about their own and/or someone else’s use of AOD

This paper will illustrate how CADS Auckland is continuing to develop services that include and support those affected by someone else’s problematic AOD use.

Biography:  Suzy Morrison is a Social Worker and Counsellor and has been in the role of Family Services Coordinator for Community Alcohol and Drug Services (CADS) Auckland since 2006.  Her role is to support and promote the growth and development of Inclusive Practice across this large regional service.