Our aim is to create opportunities for young people – building a brighter future for them, their families and local community. We seek to achieve this by delivering fun and interactive activities centred around the sport of angling.

We have found that most of the professionals who have encountered the “Get Hooked on Fishing” scheme have sensed something special about the project. It has been noted that there is an apparent synergy of vision, commitment, process and tangible outcomes for the young people involved.

There have also been some great opportunities for culturally appropriate opportunities for our children who identify as aboriginal or Torres strait islander groups. We have been able to divert young people away from using tobacco, alcohol and cannabis through this program.

The program has limitless applications and could be used in schools, community groups and as major drug diversion courses by Police. I know this as I was engaged in this program in the UK and it was developed by Merseyside police force in 2002.

The options to use this to engage children who are very hard to reach has been proven in the past. Although it is yet to be evaluated in an Australian and Queensland context. We have had some really beneficial outcomes from the times we have ran the course thus far. Again, this program requires some academic underpinning to allow for a comprehensive evaluation.

The new pathways team would like to be in a position to develop this program nationally in Australia.