Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said on August 9 that the proposal to build a second “medically-supervised injection chamber” in the city of Melbourne, Australia, would be kept secret until after state elections in November. Stated.
This follows pressure from Melbourne City Council, which called for the “urgent” release of a proposed injection room report by former Victoria Police Commissioner Ken Lay.
“I think it’s unlikely, mainly because Ken Ray hasn’t finished his work…and we don’t know when that work will be finished,” Andrews said at a news conference on Aug. 9, adding that Ray is “outstanding Victorian” and gets the job done.
“Then the proposal must be submitted to Congress and passed. The physical address must be set by law. It’s not a simple process,” says Andrews.
“I don’t want anyone to criticize Ken and his work. He works very hard. Things have changed.”
But Emma Keely, a spokeswoman for the opposition mental health party, told reporters on August 9 that the Andrews government was “hiding” the report, and that Victorians had been forced to open injection chambers before state elections. He said he needed to know about the proposal.
In July 2020, Ray appointed The Andrews government has led the consultation process on the proposed second injection chamber. Ray said she was due to submit her report at the end of 2020, but the report is not yet complete.
The Andrews government said restrictions have restricted community consultations and blamed the pandemic for the delay.
In a November 2021 statement, Victoria’s Ministry of Health said it had accepted all recommendations made by the government. Independent Review Board to Victoria’s First Medically Supervised Injection ChamberThis included setting up a second injection room in the city of Melbourne.
In early 2021, the former Yooralla facility at 244 Flinders Street was purchased by the state government and is believed to be the candidate site for a second injection room. age.
A second site was originally proposed for CoHealth Central Melbourne on Victoria Street, between Swanston and Elizabeth Streets. However, the proposal has raised concerns from residents, stall owners and Melbourne City Council.
‘Critical’ Problems Emerging from North Richmond Injection Room
According to an independent review, North Richmond’s “medically-controlled injection room” had almost 120,000 visits in its first 18 months, and modeling “saved at least 21 to 27 lives.” ‘ suggests.
The review also says that overdoses and public injections are down, resulting in reduced ambulance attendance and users accessing other health and support services.
“The Richmond facility saved 44 lives and responded to 4,500 overdoses,” said Andrews.
“Not everyone supports it, but it doesn’t have universal support. You will still see people dying in the ditch.”
However, in the first 10 months after the facility opened, the number of ‘improperly discarded 27% more syringes.
The motion also stated that there were more heroin-related deaths within a kilometer of a North Richmond injection room in the 12 months after it opened than in the previous 12 months. ing.
“Degraves Street traders fear the Andrews Labor government will move forward with plans for a second injection room in the old Yooralla building on Flinders St,” said Kealy.
“Elementary school kids next door to Richmond’s injection room are exposed to corpses, daily substance abuse and traumatic scenes of drug crime.”
Ray plans to complete the report by “early next year,” as he officially ends his term as chairman of the Forensic and Ambulance Commission Victoria on August 25.
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Henry Jom is an Australia-based reporter covering Australian local news. Please contact [email protected]