Daniel Andrews admits Flinders St site is an option for Melbourne’s second injecting room
Daniel Andrews has confirmed the government bought a CBD building to potentially house a second drug injecting centre while an official review to find the best site was underway.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed for the first time that the government bought a city building to potentially house a second drug injecting centre, while the official review to find the best site was still underway.
The state government purchased the former Yooralla building in Flinders St – near the popular Degraves St and opposite Flinders Street Station – for $40.3 million in 2021.
For two years since, the government has refused to say what the building was bought for, despite sources claiming the intention was to house a second drug injecting facility there.
Amid serious concerns about the impact of a CBD drug injecting centre on trade and tourism, former Ken Lay had been tasked with finding the most appropriate location in July 2020, and his marathon review is still not expected to be complete until the middle of this year.
But Mr Andrews on Tuesday acknowledged the Yooralla building had, in fact, been bought as a potential site.
“We bought a building. We think there’s a strong case to have a second injecting facility, however it’s got to be at the right location,” he said.
“We buy lots of buildings. Lots of different sites have been considered. I’m not here to talk about real estate. We buy real estate all the time and sometimes things get used for their original purpose and sometimes they don’t.
“They all tend to go up in value though, so you need not be worried about that.”
Asked if he harboured concerns that such a facility could destroy Melbourne’s city recovery and tourism prospects, Mr Andrews said: “Well, so do people overdosing and dying in shopfronts or at tram stops.”
It comes as the latest review into the highly controversial North Richmond drug injecting room failed to examine whether it was suitable for the site to be located next to a primary school.
North Richmond injecting room here to stay
As first revealed by the Herald Sun, the Andrews government has pushed ahead with plans to transition the state’s only medically supervised injecting facility into a permanent service.
It follows a panel review – chaired by John Ryan – which found the facility had fulfilled its goal of reducing deaths and overdose-related harm.
Throughout the five-year trial, not one person died from an overdose, and modelling suggests the injecting room may have prevented up to 63 deaths, but it wasn’t within the scope of the review to probe the suitability of the current location.
“We did hear from many in the North Richmond community and other stakeholders that they held deep concerns around this issue, especially the proximity to Richmond West Primary School,” the review stated.
It also conceded the facility had failed a key objective to improve amenity for nearby residents and businesses, who said the local drug market made them feel “unsafe”.
“These concerns are getting more pronounced over time,” it stated.
Ongoing issues with syringe litter and a tendency for drug users to congregate outside the building and “behave in a manner that is frightening for passers-by” were the main contributors to community concern.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Herald Sun witnessed several drug users loitering on the street after leaving the building. One man appeared to be seemingly unaware that he was walking into oncoming traffic, while another man in a wheelchair, who appeared to be drug-affected, wheeled himself onto the road in front of passing cars.
Other users could be seen injecting on the street.
Despite the ongoing community concerns, the Andrews government introduced legislation to parliament on Tuesday to keep the facility open and in its current position next to Richmond West Primary School.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the facility has “changed lives and saved lives”.
“We’re not chasing a popular outcome here,” he said. “I will never forget the day we announced this trial. There was a woman overdose not 50m from the press conference.”
Police union boss Wayne Gatt said there were issues with the facility’s location.
“I don’t accept the view that it is in the perfect location – that outside a school is good,” he told 3AW.
“The whole idea of a trial is to get something right – if you’re not going to get it right, you may have just implemented it in the first instance,” he said.
Mr Gatt also warned Victoria Police didn’t have the resources necessary to respond to a second injecting room in the CBD.
“Our needs in the city are more complex. Our resources are more finite,” he said.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the Andrews government had failed to listen to the concerns of local residents by giving it the green light.
“People had been crying out for months and even years about the inappropriateness of putting a facility like this next to a primary school,” he said.
“We would prefer an approach that’s different to the government’s in that it’s evidence based and is designed to actually transition people off addictive substances.
“We think that there are limitations with the Andrews government’s model, which is about perpetuating the dependency on these substances.”
Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said children shouldn’t witness drug use and anti-social behaviour.
“Kids should never have to walk to school and walk past a dead body or somebody who’s just injected, or see sex acts on their school grounds,” she said.
“It’s completely unacceptable and it doesn’t make any sense at all why it wasn’t in the scope of the Ryan report to evaluate ‘why is the injecting room next to the school and could it be put in a better location?’”
Judy Ryan, who led a local residents campaign in support of the injecting room, said changes in the community were noticeable once the trial had started.
“Life did change. Is it perfect, and has it been the panacea for everything in our community? The answer is no,” she said.
But prior to the facility, Ms Ryan said it was “commonplace” to find people slumped in the street.
“It was like living in a war zone. It was stressful and unacceptable,” she said.
“For people in a beautiful city like Melbourne to lose their lives in our streets is totally unacceptable.”
Mr Ryan’s review made 10 recommendations including to continue the facility as an ongoing service, expand support for users while also addressing safety and amenity through stronger collaboration between agencies.
The Andrews government accepted all recommendations except a call to allow pregnant women, couples and people on court orders to inject at the facility.
Mr Andrews said allowing those vulnerable groups to use the facility posed “significant coercive risks and other challenges”.
“We think that pregnant women who have a drug problem need to be supported, of course,” he said.
“There are lots of different ways in which we can support them and allowing them access as a registered user is not something that we support.”
Greens Richmond MP Gabriele de Vietri slammed the government for failing to expand access to the service.
“We’re disappointed to see that the Labor government isn’t following evidence-based recommendations including expanding the eligibility criteria to reduce the number of injecting drugs being used on the streets, and expanding the number of supervised injecting rooms where they are needed to take the pressure off North Richmond,” she said.
Parents in war of words with government
Angry parents and neighbours of the primary school near the Richmond drug injecting room have slammed the Education Minister’s characterisation that the school is thriving.
Natalie Hutchins on Monday said the Richmond West Primary School had been able to operate successfully and continued to thrive since the medically supervised injecting facility opened as a trial in 2018.
While residents wanted the facility relocated, Ms Hutchins said the continuation of the site was a matter for Premier Daniel Andrews to announce.
But she said the facility was a “good thing”, and that the school had taken strong measures to promote security.
Ms Hutchins added the school was providing “the most extraordinary education” through its teaching of the Mandarin language.
Asked if she was comfortable with a drug facility being located next to the school on a permanent basis, Ms Hutchins said: “I’m confident that the school has been able to operate successfully and continue to thrive to date.”
“I think over the years there probably has been a number of concerns raised by parents of that school, but certainly when I visited that school, the principal was very proud to show me all of the systems they have in place to make sure their kids are safe and healthy everyday.”
Neil Mallet, a father of two sons who recently graduated from the school, said the Andrews government had not “owned up to the inherent and immeasurable risk they have created for these five to 12 year olds”.
“Rather than showing the great educational outcomes the school is achieving, the principal is showcasing the security cameras and guards that have been installed to ensure that none of the 1000+ junkies are ever allowed within the school campus.”
Another parent, who asked not to be named, said: “Enrolment numbers for 2023 prep classes would suggest the school is not thriving.”
“They’ve fortified the school to the point where you can’t walk in,” the concerned parent added.
Neighbouring resident Sharon Neven said kids shouldn’t be subjected to witnessing drug usage.
“These kids have to walk past this horrific behaviour. These are our babies starting their educational journey. It is frightening and it’s dangerous,” she said.
Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said Labor got it wrong by allowing a drug injecting room to be set up next to a primary school.
“The political spin by the Education Minister to try and justify how normal it is for a primary school to need prison-like security because the government built an injecting room next door is simply ludicrous,” she said.
“No primary school child should have to walk to school past a dead body, see people having sex, drug deals or people injecting drugs, yet this is exactly what Labor accepts for West Richmond students.”
The Andrews government has credited the injecting room as a measure that has saved lives.
More Coverage
Premier Victorian sheep farm snapped up
A renowned 1200ha central Victorian property has changed hands after it was offered for sale in 2022, where it was expected to fetch $30 million offers.
Left to rot: ‘Gentlest’ teen Isla Bell’s brutal end
The horrific final moments of Brunswick teenager Isla Bell were captured on CCTV while her accused killer allegedly beat her on the kitchen floor of his apartment, before her body was stored in a fridge for weeks.