LIBS SINK DRUG ROOMS PLAN

Plans to test supervised drug injecting rooms in Victoria have been scuttled by the opposition, which has vowed to block the measure in parliament.

The Liberal Party, which controls the upper house, decided yesterday to vote against legislation to test up to five of the rooms in Melbourne, dashing government hopes for a key element of its drugs strategy.

Premier Steve Bracks savaged the opposition over the decision, saying it had "no spine, no leadership", and accused it of deceiving the community about its sincerity in considering the measure.

"Their consultation was a sham," he said. "All the work he (Opposition Leader Denis Napthine) put community groups through, put councils through, was an absolute sham, a charade." Mr Bracks predicted a public backlash against the opposition over its decision, and committed the government to pushing ahead with its injecting rooms legislation.

"If it does not get up, we will put it up again. We will continue to work with those MPs who want to achieve a real outcome in saving lives and minimising harm," he said.

The Premier ruled out circumventing parliament to introduce injecting rooms through regulation, saying it would be improper and the police "quite rightly require a legislative cover for it".

Dr Napthine said his party had unanimously rejected the trial because "heroin injecting rooms send the wrong message to young people. They condone rather than condemn heroin use".

Instead, he said, the opposition had developed an $80 million strategy that would crack down on drug traffickers while enhancing rehabilitation services for users.

Dr Napthine said the resumption of parliament next week had given the opposition little choice but to decide its position this week.

Nevertheless, the timing of yesterday's decision caught several senior Liberals by surprise. When drugs policy expert Dr David Penington addressed the party last month the government indicated it would not bring on its legislation until October.

Senior Liberal MPs said they first became aware the party vote would be brought ahead late on Thursday night, when Dr Napthine called a shadow cabinet meeting in Geelong for 7am on Friday.

In any event, key front-benchers said, it made little difference because the party room was never likely to support injecting rooms. Dr Napthine had anticipated this when, three weeks ago, he ordered that an alternative drugs strategy be drawn up.

Key elements of the strategy include the compulsory treatment of drug overdose victims, an extra 500 rehabilitation and detoxification beds, the introduction of drugs courts and minimum sentences for drug traffickers and the total confiscation of a trafficker's assets.

"This approach will really deal with the issue of drugs in our society. We are going to be tough on drug traffickers, who are purveyors of death in our community," Dr Napthine said.

But Mr Bracks said the policy had been developed purely to salve the conscience of the opposition and did nothing to prevent overdose deaths.

The government was resolute about saving lives through drug education, detoxification and rehabilitation programs but "we can't rehabilitate people if they're dead", he said.

Dr Penington said he was disappointed but "not altogether surprised" at the Liberals' decision and accused them of failing to understand drug abuse issues.

He said he had expected the Liberals to vote in favor of enabling legislation, then to use an effective veto power to scrutinise and, if necessary, reject each specific proposal for such a facility as it came before parliament. He also criticised the Liberals' alternative drugs plan, saying elements had not been thought through and the foundations of the Liberals' decision contained fundamental errors of fact. "They don't understand those facts, evidently," he said.