Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for standing with me, we’re now over 16,000 strong, and your support means the world.

I wanted to give you a quick update on what’s been happening behind the scenes.

Last week, I met with Queensland’s Minister for Education, John-Paul Langbroek. Sadly, he told me there’s no national curriculum in Australia for drugs and alcohol education — which means methanol poisoning awareness can't currently be mandated in schools. This is a huge gap. I spoke to a teenager who recently finished school in Brisbane — her only drug education was one project on cannabis. No mention of counterfeit alcohol. No mention of methanol.

We also discussed Australia’s $52 million in aid to Laos, and whether it could support better medical care, like funding the antidote Fomepizole in local hospitals. The Minister encouraged me to take this idea to Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

The next day, I shared Simone’s story on Sunrise. Penny Wong’s office reached out afterward, and I’m now waiting to hear back about a potential meeting. If that happens, I’ll also try to meet with Education Ministers in Canberra to push for future curriculum reform.

Want to help right now? Please forward this petition to 5 friends. Ask them to sign and share it too. Every name adds weight to this campaign. 

I’ll keep you posted with next steps. Thank you again. 

Bethany