Thursday, 19 October 2023

Western Victoria Region

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:55): (483) My question is for the Minister for Mental Health. Last week I was contacted by a family who went through the heartbreaking loss of their son Jye to overdose. In the wake of his death, the family are asking local members of Parliament: why don’t we have a medically supervised injecting room in Geelong? Our government’s harm reduction response for people who use drugs is not going far enough. Measures like safe injecting rooms save lives, and we know they are effective in areas of high risk of overdose like Geelong. Jye’s death was preventable, as were the deaths of so many others. Overdoses are increasing, and the current situation demands immediate action to ensure the welfare of all community members. Minister, will you ensure that people who inject drugs can do so with medical supervision in Geelong?