MANDATORY DETOX FOR ADDICTS

FORCIBLY detaining teenage drug addicts and making them undergo
rehabilitation is being considered by the Victorian Government.

Premier Steve Bracks said legislation making it compulsory for youths
to go through detox would be examined in light of his decision this
week to shut down a welfare program that supervised teenagers sniffing
solvents.

"It is something the Government would consider among a number of other
packages," Mr Bracks said. "It's really about the power of the
departments or the institutions to be able to compulsorily say that
the individual should stay at that institution number one and should
receive detox rehabilitation services if they have a drug problem," he
said.

The Premier's comments come as pressure mounts on Community Services
Minister Christine Campbell to resign over accusations that she lied
when she said she was not aware a state-funded welfare agency
supervised children as they "chromed".

Ms Campbell has engaged in a debate of definitions, saying she was
aware staff at the Berry Street Victoria agency "monitored" children
chroming but at no time did she know they were "supervising" the practice.

Mr Bracks denied any legislation locking up young drug addicts to
detoxify them was a zero tolerance policy or a big shift away from the
prevention approach promoted by his Government.

"I think it is too simplistic to look at these arrangements as labels,
the important thing is that what we are operating is proper
appropriate institutional care for wards of the state as if they were
in a family situation," he said.

He also took a swipe at two of his senior parliamentary colleagues,
who sat on the committee that heard evidence of supervised chroming at
Berry Street, for failing to inform him about it.

"We had discussions . . . and we did say 'why on earth didn't you tell
us?'," Mr Bracks said.

It was "surprising and remarkable" that the politicians did not
realise that supervision of chroming would be of community concern.

Mr Bracks rejected suggestions the information was not passed on to
him because the committee might have seen the merits of supervised
chroming as a harm-minimisation strategy.

The Opposition continued its assault on Ms Campbell yesterday, saying
she had lied to the people of Victoria about chroming within youth
facilities.

"She must go, or Premier Bracks must sack her," Opposition Leader
Denis Napthine said.

Dr Napthine said it was inconceivable that Ms Campbell did not know of
the practice after attending a launch of the agency's policy and
awarding it a best practice grant.

The Opposition also attacked her for not being aware that Berry Street
had publicised its supervised chroming policy on ABC radio last year.

In an interview on ABC radio yesterday, Ms Campbell admitted she
should have known about it.