INJECTING ROOM ACTION DROPPED

A group of Kings Cross businesses withdrew their appeal yesterday
against the decision to open Australia's first legal heroin injecting
room in their suburb, because of a lack of public donations to fund the
challenge.

A vice-president of the Kings Cross Chamber of Commerce, Mr Malcolm
Duncan, said: "I think [the community] don't really see any point in
expending a lot of money killing something that is going to suicide.
People have looked at the figures for the first month, they can see
there's practically no-one using it."

But as one legal battle ended for the Uniting Church, another is about
to start. The Rev Harry Herbert said the church would take legal action
against the owner of Blinky's Photos in Darlinghurst Road, who refuses
to remove a fixed security camera pointed at the entrance to the
injecting room next door. Mr Herbert said the camera was an invasion of
privacy and could deter addicts from using the injecting room. "I don't
think it's reasonable for a next-door neighbour to put up a camera ...
it can't be a protection to him to photograph who goes in and out our
door."