SYDNEY TRIAL COULD BE DELAYED MONTHS

SYDNEY- The trial of Australia's first heroin injecting room in Sydney
could be delayed by months, as the Uniting Church struggles to find an
appropriate site.

The executive director of the Church's NSW Synod Board for Social
Responsibility, the Reverend Harry Herbert, said yesterday the
original plan for the injecting room to throw open its doors in April
was unlikely to be met.

"I would think April is very optimistic," Mr Herbert
said.

"I would think June or July is more realistic, and a lot of it depends
upon getting a property."

Mr Herbert met NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan yesterday to discuss
the technicalities of lodging a proposed site with the police.

Mr Ryan and the NSW Health Department director-general must both give
their final approval to the site.

"This is a bit more complicated because the police are involved, so it
takes a little bit of time," Mr Herbert said.

One proposed site - a former restaurant opposite the Wayside Chapel in
Hughes Street, Kings Cross - has already been scotched by Mr Ryan
after concerns expressed by senior police officers.

Mr Herbert said a former laundromat in nearby Orwell Street remained
under consideration, but a needle exchange in Darlinghurst Road now
topped the Church's list.

While the caveat that the trial take place in Sydney's Kings Cross was
restrictive, it was also an essential element of the trial, he said.

Many in the Kings Cross community remain opposed to the trial going
ahead on their doorstep.

Mr Herbert said residents were being continually kept informed on
progress, and a community consultative committee, which has resident
representation, meets regularly.

"There are no secrets from the residents," he said. Mr Ryan said
yesterday's meeting was on administrative matters, and finding a site
was completely up to the Church.

"We are just continuing talks as to how the initiative can be
progressed," he said.

"All we are interested in is enforcing the legislation and making sure
that when premises are properly identified that we continue to feel
confident that they are suitable."

The state Government has already swept aside Federal Government
protests about the trial.

Prime Minister John Howard said last week it could breach Australia's
international treaty obligations, and demanded that NSW Premier Bob
Carr put the trial on hold - a suggestion the state Government has not
taken up.