Western NSW minister Moriarty weighs in on Dubbo rehab debate

Asked whether the state government had the power to veto the Western NSW Local Health District (Western NSW Local Health District )'s controversial site choice, Ms Moriarty said she and her colleagues were looking into what can be done.

"The health ministry will have a look at what the right option is," she told media in Dubbo on Tuesday.

"We're a new government and one of the upsides of a new government is that we get to have fresh eyes and a fresh approach on how decisions have been made before and whether they're right or wrong."

In February, WNSWLHD Chief Executive Mark Spittal and Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders announced that the district would purchase a four-hectare site for the Alcohol and Other Drug Rehabilitation Centre in Spears Drive, in West Dubbo.

The announcement raised eyebrows in the community, with some questioning its timing just a month out from the state election and others calling the site - on a residential street - "inappropriate" for such a facility.

Last week, Dubbo councillors backed a motion by Josh Black to write to the government and formally oppose the rehab centre location. Council wrote they are "committed" to working with the WNSWLHD to find a "more suitable" location.

"This rehab shouldn't be, in my opinion, located next to an established residential neighbourhood after zero consultation with the residents next door simply isn't fair," Cr Black said.

"It certainly isn't fair on the people who will be using the centre trying to beat their addictions, they should be afforded a more private setting as they go through that journey."

Ms Moriarty was in Dubbo to announce funding for a program training Indigenous people to be mental health wellness workers in remote western NSW communities.

She said mental health is a "key priority" for her as minister and the Dubbo drug and alcohol rehab centre is an important project to get right as part of that.

"I'm happy to work with my colleagues, in particular the health minister [Ryan Park] and of course the local MLC Stephen Lawrence, about what the appropriate location is," she said.

"We know this rehab facility is important and we also know it's just not enough to have one in western NSW, we need to do so much better in terms of providing rehab facilities across the bush.

"This rehab facility is just the start, we need to do more."

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