Medically supervised injecting facilities
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:06): (638) My question is to the Minister for Mental Health. Minister, the Ontario health minister Sylvia Jones recently announced that no injecting room would be located within 200 metres of a school or a childcare facility. She stated:
In Toronto, there’s been numerous stories of altercations, stabbings, shootings and even a homicide in the vicinity of these sites …
Our first priority must always be protecting our communities, especially when it comes to some of our most innocent and vulnerable – our children.
Minister, when will the Allan Labor government make children who attend Richmond West Primary School their first priority and introduce a similar ban on injecting rooms operating within 200 metres of schools and childcare facilities?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:07): I thank Ms Crozier for that question. As I have said a number of times in the house, the Allan Labor government remains committed to the North Richmond medically supervised injecting room. It is an important part of our response to drug harm across the community. We have a very strong working relationship between the health service there at North Richmond and other agencies and partners on that housing estate, including of course the primary school. They are part of the multi-agency committee that meets regularly to talk about matters to do with the amenity and safety across that precinct.
The Victorian government has a very strong view that this is at the heart of our response to opioid addiction – the medically supervised injecting room in North Richmond. It remains an important part of our response to opioid addiction, ensuring that people who are injecting intravenous drugs have somewhere that they can go where they are medically supervised. That service, as we know, has prevented 63 Victorians from dying from a heroin overdose and it has safely managed more than 8700 overdoses. All of the data suggests to us that it is preventing ambulance call-outs in that area and taking pressure off St Vincent’s, which has the nearest emergency department. I can reassure everyone that this will continue to be a really important part of our response to drug harm in the state, and Ms Crozier knows my views on this matter pretty clearly.
Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:09): Yes, I do know the minister’s views, and she is not supporting many within the community who have got concerns around their children’s safety and others’. Minister, my supplementary goes to the point that last year you voted against a ban on injecting rooms operating within 250 metres of schools and childcare centres and two weeks ago a young girl walking past the North Richmond injecting room was physically assaulted by a drug-affected woman. Minister, given the ongoing threat to our most innocent and vulnerable, our children, why won’t the Allan Labor government introduce a ban on injecting rooms operating next door to a primary school and keep these children safe?
Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (12:09): I thank the member for her supplementary question, and of course I am aware of the incident. I think that it would have been incredibly distressing for that young girl, and I hope that she is recovering well. My advice is that the woman who was involved in the alleged assault is not a client of the North Richmond medically supervised injecting service. I am further advised that these issues are being actively investigated by Victoria Police, and we should all let them do their job.