LIB MP BACKS DRUG ROOMS

A veteran Liberal MP will not only defy his leader and support the
Government's injecting room trial this week, but will also try to
increase the number of rooms from one to four.

Kevin Rozzoli, a former Speaker of the NSW Parliament, will ignore
orders from Liberal Leader Kerry Chikarovski for a united stand
against the injecting room and cross the floor to vote in favour of
the trial.

Mr Rozzoli said his strong belief that the trial would save lives
meant he had to follow his conscience.

Up to 10 Liberal MPs are known to favour the trial and several of them
asked Mrs Chikarovski for a conscience vote on the issue.

She insisted the party vote as a bloc against the legislation even
though the Government had the support of Independents to get it
through both houses. The vote is seen as a test of her leadership.

"I doubt any Liberals will join me voting to support the trial, but so
long as we give notice we can do these things in the Liberal Party,"
said Mr Rozzoli.

A usually conservative MP, Mr Rozzoli yesterday attacked the
Government for being too timid in the trial.

He said if the trial operated one room for only seven hours a day
addicts would have nowhere to go when it closed. He will try to move
an amendment to the legislation to set up four trial injecting rooms
two in Kings Cross and two in Cabramatta.

"Overseas experience shows injecting rooms reduce public health risks
and the public nuisance associated with drug injecting in areas where
there are a high number of injecting drug users," said Mr Rozzoli.

He said his study of overseas injecting rooms showed staff were
stressed and needed to be changed every hour and the rooms closed for
a few days a week.

"To have only one centre will greatly reduce the efficacy of the
experiment and the capacity to reduce deaths from overdose and the
spread of infection," he said.

"If the Government is genuine about trialling safer injecting rooms as
a means of reducing health risks and public nuisance then it will
consider widening the scope of the legislation."

Liberal MP John Ryan spoke in favour of the trial when it went through
the Upper House last week.

"This bill is not endorsing the use of drugs, it is about rescuing the
dying," Mr Ryan told Parliament before saying he would obey his party
and vote against the trial.