A report showing one in eight children have parents with a substance addiction may underestimate the extent of the problem, Australia's drug advisory authority says.
According to the report by the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD), more than 230,000 Australian children aged two to 12 years are being raised by adults who abuse alcohol, cannabis or methamphetamines.
But the council said worse figures could be expected when it improved its methods of data collection and included teenagers and infants in its estimates.
The ANCD found that among the children included in its estimates, more than 40,000 live in a household where an adult smoked cannabis daily and more than 14,000 children live in a household where an adult used methamphetamines at least once a month.
The total figure equates to 13 % of Australian children - higher than international estimates that 10% of the world's young live in these conditions.
The ANCD said only 50% of addicts sought treatment and programmes were so stretched they did not get enough help to kick their habits.
The 18-month study found children living with adults who abused drugs and alcohol were also exposed to related problems like domestic violence, child abuse and mental illness.
ANCD chairman John Herron said the true extent of the problem was expected to be revealed when methods of data collection were enhanced.
"This is the first step," Herron told reporters at the launch of the report in Sydney.
"I'm shocked about the numbers of the children that are affected by this - I suspect it's larger. Kids at school are getting targeted by peddlers and, don't kid yourself, it's organised crime gangs. They don't give a damn what's happening to the kids out there so we've got to train society to not accept it."
He called on federal and state governments to fund more services to the tune of "hundreds of millions of dollars" if needed.
"We're investing in our kids of the future - the adults of tomorrow," Herron said.
The report makes 13 major recommendations, including better reporting of statistics, more funding and drug treatment programmes.
To break the chain of generational abuse, programmes needed to include the entire family and address problems people faced at home, school and in the workplace, Herron said.
Prime Minister John Howard said the report's findings made distressing reading.
Howard said the government's tough on drugs policy had been working, but it was committed to continuing the fight.
"I think our campaign has been very very successful, but this report is a grim reminder that there is a great deal more work to be done and this government remains totally committed to that task," he said.
The federal minister responsible for drugs, Christopher Pyne, said the government had already set aside considerable funds to fight the drug menace.
"The budget has invested an additional $AU79.5 million to expand the Non-Government Organisation Treatment Grants Program to ensure
more treatment places and services are provided, particularly for therapy and detoxification, for families struggling with drug addiction," he said.
The government will also provide $AU22.9 million to better equip organisations to deliver effective treatment for methamphetamine users and $AU73.9 million over four years to improve non-government services for people with alcohol and other drug-related mental illness.
NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell said an Institute of Health and Welfare report indicated drug prevention activities made up 5.2 % of the state's health budget, down from 10.2% in 1999-2000.
"The national report makes it clear that too little in the way of treatment options is available in NSW," O'Farrell told reporters.
NSW Community Services Minister Kevin Greene said the government had already implemented new laws requiring some parents to undergo substance treatment programmes as part of Parental Responsibility Contracts.
He said the government was also trialling Parental Drug Testing, where certain parents whose children have been removed because of substance abuse are made to undergo testing before they are returned to them.
He said $AU150 million had been dedicated to create 350 new early intervention caseworker jobs by next year to work with families to address emerging problems, before they reach crisis point.
