BRACKS VOWS TO FIGHT FOR HEROIN TRIALS

COMMUNITY opposition would not stop the Victorian Government pushing
ahead with legislation to establish safe injecting room trials, Steve
Bracks said yesterday.As advocates of a proposed facility in Footscray
accused one community group of scaremongering over the issue, the
Premier said his Government would "have the courage of our
convictions", even if it meant losing votes.

"Votes aren't the issue here - if it becomes unpopular but it is the
right thing to do, we will do it," he said. His comments followed a
heated public meeting in Footscray at the weekend, during which local
Labor MP Bruce Mildenhall was shouted down as he attempted to outline
the Government's proposed legislation on injecting rooms.

Footscray Matters, an anti-trial group that organised the meeting,
enlisted the support of former rock star Normie Rowe, who told the
audience injecting rooms were "akin to giving an alcoholic a bottle of
scotch a day".

The meeting demanded the issue be put to a referendum by Maribyrnong
City Council, which has yet to take a stance on the issue.

But local youth worker Les Twentyman said the mostly elderly audience
was given misleading information about the results of similar trials
overseas. "It's targeting people who are very vulnerable and it's just
dividing the community," he said.

Mr Twentyman said there were 26 heroin-related deaths in the Footscray
area last year, among a population of 55,000.

Footscray Matters spokeswoman Carole Demirdjian said the proposed
trial of five injecting facilities across Melbourne failed to
recognise the issue was a state-wide crisis.

She said the money should be used to fund more street-level welfare
workers, who could advise on options for counselling and
rehabilitation, and dispense clean syringes.

Marian Burford, spokeswoman for recently formed pro-trial group
Footscray Cares, said a majority of residents were in favour of the
trials but had until now been less organised than opponents of the
trials.