SUBURBS STILL SAY NO TO INJECTING ROOMS

The introduction of suburban injecting rooms may have failed to win support
in the Victorian Parliament, but to the residents of Dandenong the prospect
of a supervised facility is as real a threat as ever.

About 1000 people gathered at Springvale Town Hall last Friday night to
discuss the drug policy expert committee's recommendation that a trial
injecting facility be located in their municipality.

The crowd was unequivocal in its opposition to the committee's report,
saving most of its criticisms for the report's author, David Penington.

Dr Penington was invited to speak at the meeting by the City of Greater
Dandenong as part of a community consultation process.

A poll measuring community support for injecting facilities was conducted
across five Melbourne municipalities - Greater Dandenong, Maribyrnong,
Yarra, Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne - as part of the expert
committee's report, which was released last March.

The City of Greater Dandenong, which includes the suburbs of Springvale,
Noble Park and Dandenong, had the lowest level of support, with slightly
less than half - 45.5 per cent - of those polled saying they were in favor
of an injecting facility.

Dr Penington told the audience: "You have serious problems on your streets
and those people who don't want to discuss the issue may as well leave."

There to put the case against suburban injecting rooms was city-based
resident Peter Faris, QC, who was asked by the Springvale Traders
Association to voice their opposition. Mr Faris pledged the support of his
city lobby group, Residents 3000, to the traders' campaign.

"We will fight with you, we will support you and I am sure you will support
us," he said to a standing ovation.

Emotions ran high during the evening and the debate dissolved into personal
slanging matches on several occasions: "You can attack me and I'll attack
you back," Mr Faris told a woman who had charged him with using a populist
approach to win over the Springvale crowd.

The Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong, Cr Angela Long, who did not
speak at the meeting, said it was only one part of a continuing
consultation process on the issue and said she was disappointed at the
level of discussion.

"I don't like that it became a free-for-all at times, but it was
worthwhile," she said.

Dr Penington, who attended another highly charged public meeting in
Footscray earlier this year, said the Springvale experience was more
productive, but that such forums were not the best way to form policy on
the issue of supervised injecting facilities.