DRUG IDEA HAD TO BE SHOT DOWN

The State Government has correctly shelved the idea of providing shooting
galleries for junkies to inject heroin.

Health Minister Andrew Refshauge says the decision was taken when the
Government failed to win bipartisan support for this idiot notion.

Does this swingeing response mean then that the Carr Government fully
supports the provision of rooms where drug addicts could carry out their
illegal activities?

The Government deserves commendation for refusing to buckle to the pro-drug
lobby over this issue - but not if it actually backs the proposition.

According to Greens MP Ian Cohen, who can always be relied upon to advance
the loony tune agenda, heroin users would somehow have been better off for
having government providsed injecting rooms.

This logic would appear to ignore the reality that it is the drug the
causes death, location has yet to be cited by a coroner in a drug fatality.

The Joint Committee on Safe Injecting Rooms set up to consider the Wood
Royal Commission's recommendation tha the Government consider setting up
shooting galleries will report tomorrow.

Mr Cohen said six of the committee's 10 members had rejected a shooting
gallery trial. The views of the other four should be enlightening.