CHURCH WILL HELP USERS DESPITE BANNED INJECTING ROOM

A Melbourne church group said today it would not turn away drug users
despite the local council rejecting its proposed safe injecting room.

Wesley Central Mission had set up a $500,000 facility in the busy CBD
ahead of approval from Melbourne City Council and a government bill
legislating such sites.

Superintendent Reverend Timothy Langley said the issue of health care
for drug users would remain even if the council refused to approve any
such facilities.

'We still get up to 100 users a day coming here and dying here in the
past,' Mr Langley told reporters.

'We still have the issue of what do we do with our people who come
here. We will not turn them away.'

Mr Langley said the mission would continue to provide health care to
drug users who came onto the church grounds but would not defy the law
outright.

'We at the moment provide onsite services to the client group in
accordance with the law,' he said.

Mr Langley acknowledged criticism the church was operating a 'de
facto' injecting site by allowing drug users onto its grounds and
helping overdose victims.

'There are those who accuse us of doing that,' he said.

'I think it's true to say that this precinct, this area, these
laneways, including this church property here, are used in that way,
yes.'

The council was due in October to formally consider a trial of an
injecting room but said its hand had been forced by Wesley's use of
'spin doctors' to influence public opinion.

The council voted 8-1 against the Wesley facility because it was too
close to city residents.

Mr Langley said the church group had started work on the safe
injecting room following 'in principle' agreements with the former
government which lost office in September last year.

'We started work on this early last year, having had dialogue with the
then minister of health and with some understanding that this was
going to be a service that would be trialled,' he said.

'It was never formally authorised, there were agreements in
principle.'

But Mr Langley did not regret the $500,000 spent to set up the
facility.

'If it's seen as a cost against informing and making Victoria aware of
the issues involved and if it does save lives then in our view it's
been well spent,' he said.