NO DECISION ON HEROIN TRIAL FOR 12 MONTHS

A decision on the ACT heroin-injecting room proposal would be postponed for
12 months after the NSW Government announced yesterday the Kings Cross
trial would be extended, a spokesman said.

A spokesman for Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said the ACT Government pledged
to wait for the "rigorous academic assessment" of the first Australian
clinic before making its decision on a Canberra trial.

The evaluation report would now be issued after October 31, 2003, which
would force the ACT Government to delay its decision, he said.

NSW Special Minister of State John Della Bosca said $2.5 million from the
Confiscated Proceeds of Crime Account would fund the 12-month extension.

He denied the move was made to avoid deciding on the trial's future in the
lead up to the March 2003 state election, saying an agreement was struck
with the centre's operators, the Board of Uniting Care Australia, to extend
the trial in view of its success.

There had been 200 overdoses in the Kings Cross clinic but no deaths, he said.

Kings Cross Chamber of Commerce senior vice-president Malcolm Duncan said
the extension was an outrage.

"This is a Government that is totally out of control," he said.

"There is no such thing as a safe injecting room when people don't know
what they are injecting."

The 18-month trial officially began on May 1, 2001, and was due to end in
October this year but would now continue until October 2003.

UnitingCare NSW/ACT executive director the Reverend Harry Herbert said it
made sense because a report evaluating the centre would not be issued until
after October 31.

"There needs to be time for the government of the day to consider the
contents of the report and any recommendations made," Mr Herbert said.

Centre medical director Dr Ingrid van Beek also welcomed the extension,
saying the centre received between 120 and 180 clients on an average day.

"It is vital the MSIC [medically supervised injecting centre] remains open
until the evaluation team assesses the success or otherwise of this
important trial," Dr van Beek said.

Local resident and Kings Cross Community Drug Action Team chairman Ed
Adamek said the area had become a much nicer place to live since the centre
opened and it was sensible to extend the trial.