Medically supervised injecting facilities
Tim READ (Brunswick) (14:25): My question is for the Premier. The Ryan report estimated that the Richmond supervised injecting room saved over 60 lives in the past five years. Its demonstrated success is the key reason why the report by Commissioner Lay unambiguously recommended establishing a supervised injecting room in the CBD – because it saves lives. With one or two fatal overdoses a month in the CBD – the highest rate of heroin harm in the country – has the government sought advice on the number of lives that will be lost as a result of the government rejecting the expert recommendation to establish a supervised injecting room in Melbourne’s CBD?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:25): I thank the member for Brunswick for his question and make it clear that the government absolutely supports the inclusion of a medically supervised injecting facility as part of our overall policy framework that is a harm minimisation and health-led framework to supporting people who use drugs. I want to put that absolutely on the record. I also want to make clear that in considering the report by Ken Lay into the potential for a second site, in the CBD, I would say to the member for Brunswick it was not an unambiguous recommendation from Ken Lay. There were a number of recommendations, and they included the need for there to be community support and for the needs of the community to be also considered alongside the needs of people who use drugs.
I also point out to the member for Brunswick that 90 per cent of heroin deaths occur outside of the City of Melbourne. They occur in communities like mine, a long, long way from the CBD, which is why in considering Ken Lay’s report, in considering advice from the Ryan review and from other health experts, we have provided a statewide response to a statewide problem. This is a statewide problem. As I said, 90 per cent of all heroin overdoses and deaths occur outside the City of Melbourne. That is why, alongside responding to the Ryan review and strengthening the supports around the North Richmond medically supervised injecting facility, we are also strengthening supports for people who use drugs right across the state. For example, we know the role pharmacotherapy can play in supporting people who use drugs. It was also a recommendation of the Lay report that we strengthen access to pharmacotherapy, an area that has been getting harder and harder to access. That is why we are rolling out to the community health sector grants to strengthen the availability of pharmacotherapy. We are also rolling out better access to naloxone. We are also going to commence a trial of hydromorphone, and we are going to place that trial in the new health hub in Flinders Street so that we can provide people who use drugs with access to treatment and also wraparound services. That is what we are responding to in the CBD, and we are also ensuring that people who use drugs and the people who love and support them can get access to these services across the state, because this is a statewide challenge and it needs a statewide solution.
Tim READ (Brunswick) (14:28): The Premier is right. This is a problem that does occur in many other parts of the state, and it is a problem that is going to come to a head if and when fentanyl and possibly nitazenes become more prevalent in the injecting drug markets. Fentanyl, for example, is a synthetic opioid that is around 50 or more times stronger than heroin and, importantly, acts faster, so it will kill people before help arrives. Fentanyl killed around 70,000 Americans in 2021, and it has been detected in several shipments in Melbourne. Will the government reconsider its rejection of these expert recommendations if overdoses due to synthetic opioids become more common in Melbourne?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:29): I want to be absolutely clear that the statewide response we released a week or so ago is absolutely focused on providing support to people now who have opioid addictions. The member’s question went to the increased risk of other opioids coming into the market, and that is why rolling out more access to pharmacotherapy now is so important, because pharmacotherapy is the most effective treatment option that is available now for opioid dependence.
Ellen Sandell interjected.
The SPEAKER: The member for Melbourne can leave the chamber for half an hour.
Member for Melbourne withdrew from chamber.
Jacinta ALLAN: It is also why we are trialling hydromorphone, because it is shown that that is a treatment that is found effective where others are not, and also giving more and better access to naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose as the person is having that overdose. It is about saving lives. This is a package that will save lives, which is why we are rolling it out statewide.