Medically supervised injecting facilities
Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (14:12): (409) My question today is to the Leader of the Government. In 2020 your government committed to accepting all of the recommendations of the independent Hamilton review of Victoria’s first medically supervised injecting room trial in North Richmond. One of these recommendations was to establish a second medically supervised injecting service trial in the City of Melbourne. Can you please confirm to the house that your government still stands by this commitment to establishing a second supervised injecting room in Melbourne?
The PRESIDENT: Mr Puglielli, getting back to me reading the rulings book, there have been rulings that the Leader of the Government –
Jaclyn Symes interjected.
The PRESIDENT: Yes, it was you. There have been rulings that the Leader of the Government is not seen as the same as the Premier in the other house, who can answer every question. But what is fortunate – and she can tell me if it is wrong – is that the Minister for Mental Health would be the person with responsibility for that question anyway. So if you are happy for that question to be directed to that minister, I will call her.
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:13): I thank Mr Puglielli for his question. Of course this is not a new question; I have been asked in this place and publicly in the community about these issues on more than one occasion. The issue of the government’s commitment to establishing a second safe injecting room in the CBD is a complex one. It is also an extremely important thing for the government to continue to consider in a thoughtful way. There is significant drug harm occurring in the CBD, there is no question about that, and as well as the review that the member refers to we are of course in the process of considering the Ken Lay report, which has been looking at these issues in great detail. The report, alongside the government’s response, will be released in due course.
Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (14:14): Thank you, Minister, for the response. I will note just then in the response you acknowledged that this is a commitment of the government, so in terms of my substantive question I am interpreting that as a yes, that you are standing by that commitment. By way of supplementary, we have seen comments from the Premier that have been made in the media over the past week about a resolution to this issue being in place by the end of this year, so I ask: what does this resolution mean? In terms of policy, will an overdose prevention centre be available in the Melbourne CBD this year?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:15): Thank you for that supplementary question. I will not be drawn on those issues because I have quite clearly articulated on a number of occasions now that these issues are under active consideration and are the subject of discussion between colleagues. When we are in a position to respond to Ken Lay’s report, we will be releasing that report and the government’s response to the recommendations.