SPLIT IN LIBERAL RANKS OVER HEROIN TRIAL

The first divisions have appeared in Liberal party ranks over the issue of
supervised injecting rooms, with two MPs backing a trial, despite the "grave
concerns" held by Opposition leader Denis Napthine.

While the Liberals are yet to finalise their position on the State
Government's proposed trial, they are expected to oppose the experiment in a
block with the National Party.

The backbenchers - Hurtle Lupton and Tony Plowman - are unlikely to get the
chance to vote in favor of the proposal after Dr Napthine this week
virtually ruled out the possibility of a conscience vote.

Mr Lupton, who was a member of the Kennett Government's drug and crime
prevention committee, said the facilities would save lives and that he would
be arguing in their favor at a party room meeting next week. Mr Lupton said
he had several concerns about the operation of the proposed injecting rooms.
He said that to be effective they should be open 24 hours and, given that so
many drug users were younger than 18, it made little sense to restrict entry
to adults.

The Premier, Steve Bracks, yesterday remained hopeful Parliament would
support the proposed 18-month trial of five supervised injecting centres,
but said the government was willing to discuss possible compromises.

A poll of Liberal MPs found that most were yet to make a decision on the
trial, though some, including Mordialloc member Geoff Leigh, Mornington
member Robin Cooper and Cranbourne member Gary Rowe, said they would oppose
it.

Benambra MP Tony Plowman said he supported the trial of supervised injecting
facilities, though on a much smaller scale than that sought by the
government. Mr Plowman said he had "sympathy" for the prospect of saving
lives through the use of supervised injecting facilities, but the 18-month
program proposed by the Bracks government was too big and would entrench a
new drug-taking culture.

Instead, he said, he would support a trial of a sole supervised injecting
facility over a 12-month period. "I would need to see the details of it, but
yes, I would support it to see precisely who was using it, and whether the
users were the people being aimed at," he said.

Seventeen other Liberal MPs contacted by The Age were undecided.

Mr Bracks indicated he was willing to negotiate, saying: "If they wish to
have some arrangement which accommodates their needs and wishes, we will
consider that."

But Opposition Health Spokesman Robert Doyle said it was "baffling" for the
Premier to talk of compromises. "We are asked to support, apparently in a
bipartisan way, a compromise which, as far as we can see, doesn't exist," he
said.

Dr Napthine has told a meeting of the shadow cabinet he saw no reason for a
conscience vote on the issue. The move drew criticism from several
government MPs. Labor MP Hong Lim, whose electorate of Clayton takes in a
stretch of the drug-affected suburb of Springvale, said any Liberal MP who
voted against their own conscience would be spineless.

Mitcham MP Tony Robinson said Dr Napthine's insistence on a party line vote
was a "Benalla ruling" brought down to appease conservative voters and lift
the chances of National Party candidate Bill Sykes in the May 13 byelection.

Dr Napthine has stated that the Opposition partners will vote together on
the trial.