City of Melbourne councillors reject state government’s preferred site for injecting room
A plan to build the state’s second safe injecting room near the Queen Victoria Market has been rejected by the City of Melbourne who said community distress about the project was rising.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Melbourne City Council has rejected the state government’s preferred site for a second supervised injecting room near Queen Victoria Market.
While the vote to reject the proposal was unanimous, two Greens councillors stood aside from the process claiming a conflict of interest.
The government wants to put the injecting room at the existing Cohealth Central City facility at 53 Victoria St.
However, the council’s motion on Tuesday night said location was inappropriate due to its proximity to Queen Victoria Market and affordable housing residents living above.
“Community distress arising from this site continuing to be regarded by the state government as an option grows and is causing avoidable anxiety,” it said.
It is believed the council is looking at alternative sites to put to the government.
Deputy Lord Mayor Arron Wood, who had lost a previous bid in council to have the site rejected, criticised the “fear and confusion” caused by the government’s abrupt announcement of the preferred site last month.
Mr Wood said the process had failed to consider market traders and visitors, local residents and ratepayers as stakeholders.
The Deputy Lord Mayor said he had spoken to many addiction experts and several believed the site was inappropriate, and alternative ways of dealing with addicts needed to be considered.
“We need far more action on the pathways that lead people into addiction and far more action on those pathways that lead people out of addiction,” he said.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the council had faith in an independent review panel for the second injecting room led by former Police Commissioner Ken Lay.
“It’s important that we have a proper process that is transparent where all people who might be impacted by a decision for the location for an appropriate site are able to participate in voicing their concerns and ideas,” she said.
Greens councillor Cathy Oke absented herself from the vote saying she had had conflicting advice over whether her investment property was close enough to the Victoria St site to warrant a conflict.
Fellow Greens councillor Rohan Leppert also declared an indirect conflict since Ms Oke had donated to the party’s 2016 council election campaign.
They did not declare a conflict of interest when a previous vote on the injecting room issue was taken earlier this month.
Greens policy is to support supervised injecting room trials.
Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said the government continued to remain open to an alternative site if the council had options that met the criteria of an independent panel.
Mr Foley said that Ken Lay would lead a six-month consultation process.
“Mr Lay will work with health and drug reform experts to analyse data and evidence on drug harms within the City of Melbourne and oversee a public community engagement process, seeking the views of all interested parties on the Government’s preferred site,” he said.
A Cohealth spokesman said the organisation was committed to working constructively and collaboratively with all stakeholders regarding the location of a safe injecting facility in the City of Melbourne.
“Cohealth’s Central City service already provides a range of health and wellbeing services, and the facility is well placed to incorporate a safe injecting service into the existing range of community services provided,” he said
Comment has been sought from the state government.