Decriminalisation of public drunkenness
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:32): (358) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health Ms Stitt. Minister, reports earlier this month stated that four of the sobering-up facilities are still six weeks away from opening. Can you guarantee that these centres will be fully operational before Christmas, seven days a week, 24 hours, as you promised?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:32): I thank Ms Crozier for her question and her interest in our public intoxication reforms. This is an important reform. As I have said in this place a number of times recently, it really is all about minimising harm and having a health-led response rather than a justice-led response to these issues in the community.
The latest advice I have in relation to our sobering-up services is that for Cambridge House in Collingwood, as a result of those small construction delays, the practical completion has now occurred, which is welcome. As with any new service coming on line, there are a small number of final preparedness activities that are being undertaken before the site can be safely operational. Staff onboarding is occurring and so on. As I have already stated, Cambridge House will be operational by the end of November.
For the sobering-up services in regional Victoria, there are a number of different providers, but I am advised that they are all working to have those sobering-up services or those safe places available as soon as possible, and a number of the service providers have indicated that that should be by December. I am happy to keep Ms Crozier abreast of those operations as they are stood up.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:34): Thank you, Minister, for that assurance, because I think there is some confusion and some concern in some of these locations that they are not convinced that they will be fully operational by then, because there are no sites or they are not operational. What guidelines and protocols have been put in place to deal with demand, because the laws are now in place, at identified sites in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura, Swan Hill, Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:35): In the 1 minute that I have got to respond to Ms Crozier’s supplementary question, there are a range of different services available. As you would know, there is a central point run by VAHS, which triages and then deploys outreach teams as appropriate in different locations across the state, and there are commitments in some of those locations to also, over the next few months, open safe places or sobering-up centres. In some circumstances our providers are working with existing health services, so there are a suite of different arrangements that are available. This has all been rolled out and there has been a lot of work done with our emergency services – both VicPol and Ambulance Victoria – because of course this is a statewide system and they have been involved in the rollout of these provisions.