Dan won’t commit to releasing report on CBD injecting room

A delayed report into a new supervised injecting room in Melbourne’s CBD still hasn’t been finalised and the Premier won’t say when it will be done.

The former Yooralla building on Flinders St is the proposed site of a new safe injecting facility. Picture: Mark Stewart

The Andrews government won’t commit to releasing a long-awaited report into Melbourne’s second drug injecting facility before the November election.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas on Tuesday said they didn’t know when former top cop Ken Lay’s report would be finalised.

Mr Lay had been tasked with reviewing potential locations for another supervised injecting room in Melbourne’s CBD.

The state government bought the former Yooralla facility at 244 Flinders St early last year.

Mr Lay’s highly anticipated report was expected to be finished in 2021 but was significantly delayed due to pandemic restrictions.

Mr Andrews confirmed the report had not yet been finished, adding that “more work is being done”.

Former top cop Ken Lay has not yet released his long-awaited report into the proposed site for a new supervised injecting room. Picture: AAP

“I don’t know if that work will be finished. That work is ongoing. I couldn’t put a timeline on it because I’m not doing that review, he is,” he said.

Ms Thomas, who is the minister responsible for overseeing the medically supervised injecting rooms, also wouldn’t commit to releasing the report ahead of the state election later this year.

“I’m not aware of the status of the report so I’m not in a position to make any commitments,” she said.

“I’ve had a conversation with Ken Lay in relation to this review and we will continue to work with him and his findings, but I look forward to being able to announce those and our government’s response to those shortly.

“Obviously Covid has impacted so much of our government’s work and indeed so much of our resources in health have been focused on delivering our Covid response.

“I’ve not yet seen the report but I want to let you know that I intend to take on board the findings of that report and that we will work to ensure that the medically supervised injecting facility is run safely and that we focus on improving the amenity.”

The city’s existing injecting room in Richmond is located near a school, and has been the subject of many complaints from frustrated locals about nearby drug dealing and other anti-social behaviour.

The supervised injecting room in Richmond has been the subject of many complaints from locals. Picture Andrew Tauber

But Ms Thomas spruiked the importance of the injecting room, stating the government was committed to maintaining the Richmond facility.

“The safe injecting room is saving lives. It is doing exactly what we knew it would do, and that’s the most important part of the report,” she said.

“We do understand the impact that the injecting facility has on amenity and we will focus on improving that.

“People are no longer dying on the streets of Richmond, which is what they were doing before we established the safe injection facility.”

Asked if more facilities would be established if the Andrews government were re-elected for a third term, the Premier said future sites were a matter for the entire parliament.

“It’s not a matter of making decisions about where they go as a matter of executive order or of a minister’s priority,” he said.

“They’ve got to be approved by the parliament and that goes to the seriousness of these issues, and I think that’s the appropriate framework.”

Originally published as Dan won’t commit to releasing report on CBD injecting room