Thursday, 31 August 2023

International Overdose Awareness Day

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:38): (455) My adjournment tonight is to the Minister for Mental Health, and the action I seek is that she finally release the Ken Lay report. Today is International Overdose Awareness Day, a day to remember those who have lost their lives to overdose and a day to fight to end overdose deaths in our community. In Victoria over 500 people a year are dying from overdose – 500 lives. Some of these are preventable, and it is time. We need the Labor government to commit to action. The Melbourne CBD needs a safe injecting centre. Honestly, other places in Victoria need access to safe injecting services as well. We need to make pill testing or drug checking available and a range of other interventions to reduce drug harm. And instead, overdoses are on the rise.

We have just seen the release of the latest national annual overdose report by the Penington Institute, and the data is grim. Across our country there is a fatal overdose every 4 hours. It is devastating. Over the past two decades overdose deaths have well outpaced our population growth. Yes, it is a complex problem with complex solutions, but one of these – one that is clearly supported by evidence – is medically supervised injecting rooms. A safe injecting centre in the Melbourne CBD is widely supported by addiction specialists, healthcare providers, legal centres and many others. Seventy-eight CEOs and leaders from community organisations signed a joint letter in support of a supervised injecting service in the City of Melbourne, because everyone has a right to life-saving health care, and providing resuscitation support to people who use drugs save lives. It means that less families and communities have to mark International Overdose Awareness Day.

Minister, we are still waiting to see the Ken Lay report and hoping to hear your commitment to a safe injecting centre in Melbourne. It has been 71 days since I last asked you to release this important report. You have had it for around three months now. This is urgent. We need a supervised injecting centre in Melbourne. Please, Minister, release the report.