Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:31): My question is to the Premier. Last night Yarra City Council formally adopted the position that the medically supervised injecting room must be moved away from the Richmond West Primary School and high-density public housing. There have been countless cases of children from the primary school witnessing drug dealing, drug use, sexual acts, violent crime and even dead bodies near the injecting room. When will the government make children safe and move the injecting room?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:31): I thank the member for Lowan for her question. I want to make it clear that the government has no intention of changing the location of the medically supervised injecting facility that is currently located in Richmond, because it is saving lives. The member for Lowan talks about keeping the community safe by providing a safe environment for people in our community who have serious and challenging addiction issues. Providing them with a safe environment to receive the care and treatment that they need is both saving lives and supporting people with their health needs and their addiction challenges and at the same time strengthening the safety in the local community and indeed for all of us. We make no apologies –

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier has strayed from the question. It was about making children safe. I ask you to bring her back to that point.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: It is no surprise to those of us on this side of the house that those opposite continue to oppose a treatment in our health system that saves lives. This question is of no surprise, and therefore it should come as no surprise to the member for Lowan that the government is going to continue to provide support for people with serious and significant addiction challenges through the medically supervised injecting facility because it saves lives.

Emma Kealy: Speaker, my point of order is that the Premier has strayed from the question, which was about moving the injecting room to make children safe. I ask you to bring her back to that point.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded her answer.

 Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:34): Children have been exposed to things they should not see because of Labor’s injecting room and stubborn refusal to move it. Yarra council can see the problem, school parents can see the problem and the Richmond community can see the problem. Why doesn’t the Premier see the problem, acknowledge it is harming children and move the injecting room?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Melbourne and the member for Lowan will both leave the chamber for half an hour.

Members for Melbourne and Lowan withdrew from chamber.

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:34): Again, this question comes as no surprise from a member who described the medically safe injecting room in Richmond as a government-sanctioned drug ghetto. This says it all about why Victorians cannot trust the Liberal and National opposition to be focused on what matters to them, and what matters to Victorians is that the community are supported with their significant health issues.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Brighton is warned.

Jacinta ALLAN: For some Victorians those health issues go to serious addiction, and they need our support. They need our care. They do not need to be treated in this way.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, this is a question of relevance. The question was about the impact on children, not about the addicts.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question. I cannot tell the Premier how to answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: First of all, for the member for Gippsland South to describe people with serious addictions in this way – they are people. They are parents, they have children and they deserve our care and support.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the Minister for Police on a ministers statement can I acknowledge the former MP for Warrandyte and former minister Ryan Smith in the gallery.