Melbourne CBD traders beg for injecting room rethink

Traders in Melbourne’s CBD fear a second injecting room will attract unsavoury characters, deter tourists and will be “worse than Richmond”.

CBD traders are pleading with the state government to reconsider a second injecting room on Flinders St saying the controversial project could send their businesses under.

As workers return to offices on Monday, business owners say the light at the end of a two-year pandemic tunnel could be overshadowed, if an injecting room is opened in the heart of the city.

The state government bought 244 Flinders St for $40.3m last year.

It is understood the building, close to iconic Degraves St with bustling cafes and the shopping drag of Elizabeth St, is considered the top option for a second injecting room.

Former top cop Ken Lay is believed to have nominated the site on a shortlist after a review of potential locations in the City of Melbourne ordered by the government. But Mr Lay’s final report, which was expected to be finished in 2021, has been delayed due to pandemic restrictions.

A man openly injects drugs into his leg in a thoroughfare alley. Picture: Jason Edwards

The incident was in full view of the public. Picture: Jason Edwards

Multiple people walked by. Picture: Jason Edwards

The man drinks alcohol in the alley. Picture: Jason Edwards

Theo Roussos, who owns the Degraves St cafe The Quarter, said a second injecting room would be “disastrous” for Melbourne’s CBD.

“This is a gateway for the CBD, we have a lot of tourists coming through here. It’s going to look bad and it will be a huge blow for traders who are recovering from Covid,” Mr Roussos said.

“Our biggest concerns are the drug users hanging around the laneway, the dealers hanging around, and the influx of users into the area while children and tourists are walking through.”

Dohertys Gym owner Tony Doherty said an injecting room in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD was a “terrible idea”.

“We’re encouraging people to come back into this city, which is hard enough for traders that have gone out of business and lost their shops and now we think as part of the comeback we open an injection clinic where people can shoot up illegal drugs,” Mr Doherty said.

Drug use in Lennox st Richmond. Picture: Alex Coppel.

The Herald Sun spoke to many traders who said they knew very well how the original injecting room in Richmond had affected its community, with drug addicts descending on the area like “bees to honey” and increasing crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said the state government and the City of Melbourne should immediately rule out placing a legal injecting room for illegal drug use in Melbourne.

“As has been proven in conversations in consultations with residents and small business families in Richmond, there has been a significant reduction in the level of commerce and sense of safety in that neighbourhood,” he said.

Victoria Police said officers police continued to retain a strong focus on disrupting and dismantling drug related crime in the Richmond area, with 12 people arrested in the area for drug trafficking and possession since the start of the month.

“During the course of these arrests, police have seized 50 grams of heroin with an estimated street value of $10,000 other drugs, and cash,” she said.

Traders Theo Roussos, Johnny Sandish and Tony Doherty oppose plans for the injecting room. Picture: Jason Edwards

And opposition spokeswoman for mental health Emma Kealy, said: “Our kids should never be exposed to the horrors of illegal drug use, stumble across deceased bodies, or have to dodge dirty needles on their walk to primary school, but that’s exactly the dangers of the Labor government’s first injecting room.”

A government spokesman said: “Since June 2018 the facility has been used more than 261,000 times, safely managed more than 4600 overdoses and saved at least 21 lives. That’s 261,000 people that otherwise would have injected on the streets, 4600 people that could have died and importantly at least 21 lives saved.”

CHILDREN PLAY AMONG ADDICTS AND NEEDLES

It’s just after 3pm Tuesday. Schoolchildren are walking out of the gates of Richmond West Primary School.

The weather is warm and children visit the milk bar on Lennox St, walking out holding icy poles and lollies. Giggling as they stroll down the street, they unwittingly pass a parked car with a horror unfolding inside.

A man in the driver’s seat is seen brazenly leaning over to inject a woman – shoes off and feet on the dashboard – in her right foot. The pair, with the window open, are oblivious to families flooding the street. The man injects himself before driving off.

In a nearby alley, close to a park, a man is seen injecting himself with heroin.

Residents say drug use in the Richmond area was visible to young children. Picture: Alex Coppel.

A man engages in drug use just outside the injecting rooms. Picture: Alex Coppel.

In a fit of rage, the drug-affected man is seen screaming and walking around pushing over nearby bins and other objects.

A terrified woman, who attempts to walk through the laneway, turns and flees.

But this is just another day in drug-plagued North Richmond. For the parents and residents who live there, it’s an all too familiar sight.

Parent Neil Mallet, whose 11-year-old son attends Richmond West Primary, said the situation was “only getting worse”.

“Nothing has changed and it continues to be swept under the carpet and ignored,” he said.

Allan, who owns a business in the precinct, said he witnessed violence “every day, of every week”.

“The drug dealing is blatantly open and obvious. The conflict between users and dealers is fairly constant and sometimes very scary,” he said. “The area has become categorically worse since the injecting room was built.”

The Herald Sun witnessed drug dealers pouncing on users of the safe injecting room as they left the clinic.

A person injects in a car. Picture: Jason Edwards

Transactions take place in a nearby park. There’s no need to hide or be discreet.

In the same park, a man smokes an ice pipe as children play nearby. Parents keep close watch, alert that the situation could erupt.

Last year, children were banned from using the school’s main entrance to avoid seeing a dead body, believed to be drug-related.

“I see the ambulance attend here several times a week, people overdosing all the time,” another trader said. “They openly inject as children walk past.”