Thursday, 18 March 2021

Richmond medically supervised injecting facility

Ms KEALY (Lowan) (11:14): My question is to the Minister for Health. On Friday Richmond West Primary School was sent into lockdown because of a person experiencing a dangerous and violent drug-induced psychosis outside the school. Yesterday the school was again sent into lockdown when a man armed with a knife breached security and entered the school grounds. This morning families were told that students must enter via the rear gate because there was a dead body in front of the school. Does the minister stand by the decision that an injecting room next to a primary school is both safe and appropriate?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (11:14): I thank the honourable member for her question. I have received reports on the matters that the honourable member raises, and I will await the verification from the appropriate authorities—the details. But the initial reports suggest that the honourable member might well be misinformed in some details that she refers to here. Can I start perhaps with the first item, regarding how there was a death in North Richmond this morning—or overnight would appear to be the case. Those matters are currently before the relevant authorities, who are putting together the appropriate reports. I can say that any death, whether it be from alcohol or drugs or addiction, is a tragedy. I will await the appropriate report from those authorities, and those appropriate authorities will be making a statement in the very near future.

In regard to the issues surrounding the school, the school rightly continues to be a strong supporter of a harm minimisation approach to an issue in its community that has been at the core of the heroin market in this state and in this town for some 30 years. As Professor Hamilton—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, we are almost halfway through the minister’s time to respond. On the matter of relevance, my question was directly to the point of whether the minister stands by his decision that an injecting room is safe and appropriate. I ask him to answer that question, which is a simple yes or no.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister is being relevant to the question that has been asked.

Mr FOLEY: As I was indicating in direct relevance to the question the honourable member asked, the issue in regard to where rehabilitation and support and a medically supervised injecting facility and all the wraparound services that go with it should be, report after report, including the most recent report from Professor Margaret Hamilton, say it has to be where the harm is. It has to be in the services where the drug market operates. Where the drug market operates, sadly, is in the North Richmond community, and that is where this centre is and that is where it will continue to operate for the rest of this operation of the five-year trial that is underway. That is why the Yarra council supports this process. That is why the school community supports this process. That is why every independent review that has looked at this process supports it being where the harm is, and that is why this government will continue to support it.

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, again on relevance, the question is directly—

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has concluded his answer in any case.

Ms KEALY (Lowan) (11:17): What harm is being done to young children at the Richmond West Primary School who are being repeatedly forced to witness drug-induced psychotic events and dead bodies and being forced into repeated lockdowns?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (11:18): Once again, as I indicated in my substantive answer, the honourable member’s assertions as to the facts of the matter as to where very tragic incidents happen are currently the subject of review by the relevant authorities. But what I can say is that discussions that I have had with the school community and discussions, more importantly, that the school community has had with its honourable local member, the North Richmond Community Health centre, Victoria Police, the education department—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, again on relevance, there are students that are being exposed to dead bodies, people overdosing, an armed man. What harm is being done—

The SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume her seat. I ask the member to raise a point of order in the appropriate fashion.

Ms Kealy: On relevance, Speaker, my question was specifically around the harm to children that have now experienced two lockdowns in three days and a dead body this morning. I want the minister to answer: what harm is being done to these kids?

Ms Allan: On the point of order, Speaker, you have ruled repeatedly on the member for Lowan’s previous points of order on how the Minister for Health could not have been more relevant to the question that she has asked and her supplementary question. Rather than preparing for her next point of order, the member for Lowan would do well to listen to the Minister for Health’s answer to understand how he is being relevant rather than trying to simply grandstand over what is a serious issue for the local community.

Mr M O’Brien: Further to the point of order, Speaker, asking about the harm to kids is not grandstanding. It just shows that the Leader of the House has got no idea of the damage that is being done to primary school kids.

The SPEAKER: Order! I do not uphold the point of order. The minister is being relevant to the question.

Mr FOLEY: What I do know is that during the course of this five-year trial a 16-year-old boy who had no connection to North Richmond died of a drug overdose in a nearby North Richmond squat. I know that a 16-year-old boy is a child, a 16-year-old boy is a member of a family and a 16-year-old boy addicted to heroin is a tragedy. Every death is a tragedy. That is why this school community supports this, as it is a pathway out of that tragic circumstance.