Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:14): (1111) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. Minister, there have been countless cases of primary school aged children from Richmond West Primary School witnessing drug dealing, drug use, sexual acts, violent crime and even dead bodies near the medically supervised injecting room. Last night Yarra City Council formally adopted the position that the injecting room must be moved away from the primary school and high-density public housing. So I ask: when will the Allan Labor government address the concerns of school parents, the Richmond community and Yarra City Council and move the injecting room?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:15): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. Of course we have been really clear about the role that the MSIR plays in our AOD harm reduction system. It is a critical facility. It is a health facility, and we do not have any intention of moving the North Richmond MSIR. It is saving lives, but in addition to saving lives it is actually helping to change lives. I do want to remind members that North Richmond has been a hotspot for drugs, particularly for opioids, for many, many years, well before the MSIR was established. One of the reasons why our government took the step of establishing the MSIR was because the local community were crying out for a health-led response rather than having to deal with death and overdose on their streets, in their front yards and across the whole of the North Richmond precinct.
I just want to go back to a few of the important statistics about this life-saving service. They have saved 63 lives since they have been established and safely managed more than 11,000 overdoses. In addition to that, there have been more than 4000 referrals that have been made to date to external health and social services, resulting in more than 177,000 instances of health and social support that have been provided onsite. I have got nothing but respect for the team at the MSIR, who continue to deal with incredibly complex people who in many cases do not ever get that opportunity to turn their lives around and need those referrals and that wraparound support that the MSIR provides.
What I will say in response to Ms Crozier’s ongoing criticism about this service is that we continue to engage with the North Richmond community, both through the North Richmond Precinct Community Committee but also through the $13 million of investment that we have made to the safety and amenity upgrades in that precinct. That has included improved CCTV coverage, it has included making sure that there are better entrances to the it has included additional funding for the Richmond West Primary School so that they can improve their entrances and drop-off zones. So there is ongoing consultation and work with the local community. We will continue to work closely with everyone in that precinct, and we will continue to have a very sharp focus on harm reduction and helping people turn their lives around.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:18): Minister, clearly you were not listening to what the council and residents were addressing last night at their meeting. So my question, Minister, is: will the minister attend the Richmond rally on Sunday to explain to the Richmond community why she will not address the obvious failings of Labor’s injecting room and has stubbornly refused to move it?