POSTPONEMENT OF HEROIN-INJECTION TRIAL A 'SAD DAY' FOR REFORM

The ACT Legislative Assembly passed the delayed Budget in a special
sitting yesterday amid bitter accusations over the price demanded by
key Independents - the deferral of the proposed heroin-injecting trial.

Health Minister Michael Moore, the staunchest advocate of the
injecting room, said he was more than disappointed over having to vote
to postpone the trial, and it was an extraordinarily sad day for drug
law reform.

"I believe that if we are to improve the health of the society, we
have to get a cooperative approach to particularly controversial
health issues," Mr Moore said. "Unfortunately, that's not
forthcoming."

"There are games being played, and unfortunately, that'll mean the
supervised-injecting room will be postponed. Whenever we play games as
an Assembly as a whole, the outcome is appalling."

The Government agreed last week with Independents Paul Osborne and
Dave Rugendyke to defer the trial until after the next election for
their support of the Budget, which was blocked by a single vote in the
early hours of June 30.

While the Liberals said the Opposition had instigated the problem by
blocking the Budget, Labor said the Government, and in particular Mr
Moore, had abandoned all principle.

Opposition Leader Jon Stanhope said Mr Moore had buried all hope of a
trial by voting for the amendment deferring it.

"When Mrs Carnell and Mr Smyth decided to join their hardline
conservative colleagues and walk away from their earlier commitment to
the trial, the casting vote was that of Mr Moore," Mr Stanhope said.

"Mr Moore has long strutted his commitment to drug law reform. Yet
[yesterday], he couldn't bring himself to buck the Liberal machine and
the deal it struck."

Mr Moore said he would continue to look at alternatives and experiment
with treatments in the name of drug reform, claiming the issue was not
dead.

ACT Treasurer Gary Humphries said that although Mr Moore was
particularly unhappy at having to defer the injecting place, he
understood as a member of the Government he had to accept
compromises.

Mr Stanhope said the prospect for a bipartisan approach to drug law
reform and progressive drug policy was gone.

He said Labor would hold its position on the trial, saying there was a
large amount of support in the ACT for drug law reform.

It was the single most intractable social problem in the community.
"One in 17 houses last year in the ACT was burgled, with Mr Humphries,
the Justice Minister, washing his hands of the link between that rate
of burglaries and drug abuse within this community."

Mr Humphries said Labor's claim that any prospect of a bipartisan
approach to drug reform was over begged the obvious question of why
the Opposition voted down the Budget and the trial in the first place.

"The Labor Party's position over the Budget - which changed almost
hourly - was so unreliable and contradictory that the Government had
no choice to talk to the Independents and forge a compromise," he said.

"I don't think the last few days have done the Assembly and
institution of self-government any credit whatsoever," he said.
"Blocking Supply was the nub of that problem, and the Labor Party has
to ask itself, 'Why was it necessary to go this point?'"

Mr Osborne said the Independents alone had succeeded, and was happy to
pass what he thought was a good Budget without the injecting-room trial.

"The Labor Party have tried to blame everybody except themselves, but
at the end of the day, Dave and I did what we believed was right."

Greens MLA Kerrie Tucker said the Government had hastily aborted the
trial, accusing them of placing more priority on maintaining the
support of Mr Osborne and Mr Rugendyke rather than the trial.

Ms Tucker, who voted against the entire Budget but for the health
Budget line item to support the trial, said the Government never
approached her with a possible deal for her support.