COUNCIL UNCERTAINTY ON INJECTING ROOMS

As details of the drug legislation that would enable the operation of
supervised injecting facilities is revealed in State Parliament today, the
mayors of the five affected city municipalities are holding to their
initial positions.

The cities of Port Phillip and Yarra remain committed to an injecting
facility and urge the opposition to take the next three months to decide
how they will vote in the spring session.

"They should think very seriously about what they might do and that is to
stop a legitimate, locally based initiative," said Cr John Phillips, Mayor
of the City of Yarra.

The drug-affected suburbs of Collingwood and Fitzroy have been considered
for a facility but Cr Phillips said the council had not considered a
precise location.

"The Opposition Leader is saying `We want to know where the locations are
going to be' and that ought not be a factor in their decision to allow it
to proceed," he said. "It is very easy to focus on an address and for
debate to be hijacked by articulate not-in-my-backyard advocates."

Port Phillip Mayor Cr Julian Hill, whose council has agreed to a facility
in St Kilda, said it was important to have legislation on the table for
further discussion but warned the debate had become narrow.

"The debate has been blown out of all proportion in that injecting
facilities are only a very small part but have received great media and
public attention," he said. "If you take the opposition at their word then
the debate will move forward because they will have more information before
them to make a considered decision."

Melbourne Lord Mayor Peter Costigan restated his personal view that a trial
should go ahead but said the council had yet to vote on the issue. "If at
some stage the legislation is enacted we will have to face up to a
decision," he said. "It is important to get the legislation in front of the
parliament and in front of the people to give everybody the chance to think
about it."

The mayors of both Maribyrnong and Dandenong have not revealed their
personal stance and have not yet put a vote to the full council. The
ALP-dominated Dandenong council deferred a vote at this month's council
meeting amid claims of pressure by state MPs to comply with the
government's drug strategy.

Mayor Cr Angela Long said yesterday that public opinion would influence her
vote, not the revelations from today's second reading of the bill. She said
the legislation, which will outline in detail how a facility proposed for
Springvale will operate, would only be worth looking at if the community
had shown greater support.

"I think the opinion of residents is very much set and I don't think they
are going to change their minds at all," she said.

The City of Greater Dandenong has completed its community consultation
period only a month after the Drug Policy Expert Committee released its
recommendations in April. The process of community workshops and public
meetings reached about 1000 of the municipality's 135,000 residents.

Maribyrnong Council, where Footscray has been marked for a facility, will
follow through with the local drug strategy process outlined in the
Penington report and hopes to have this completed by the end of the year.

"Injecting rooms are just part of the report and the legislation is just
another piece in the jigsaw," said Mayor Cr Gerard White.