Plum policy adviser job for Melbourne’s second safe injecting room up for grabs

The state government is set to splurge on a policy adviser for the city’s second injecting room, despite a long-awaited report into the facility being delayed.

The state government is hiring a $170,000 policy adviser for Melbourne’s second injecting room despite not even having a report it had commissioned into the controversial facility.

The Herald Sun can reveal the Department of Health is advertising for a “principal policy adviser” for medically supervised injecting rooms, with the job description stating they will oversee the trial of the North Richmond facility and the “establishment of a second supervised injecting service in the City of Melbourne”.

Former Victoria Police commissioner Ken Lay has been asked to examine the impact of a second safe injecting room – which was due in 2020 – but has not filed it yet due to the pandemic.

The proposed site for a second safe injecting room on Flinders St in Melbourne’s CBD has come under fire. Picture: Mark Stewart

The report, which is meant to investigate suitable locations and consult with the community, will now be completed after the state election.

Despite this, the advertisement for a $127,467 to $170,579 job to run until June 2023 has been advertised.

The advert states the successful applicant will work in “close collaboration with divisional colleagues and a range of government departments … to ensure that the trial is meeting its legislated objectives and improving outcomes for people who inject drugs”.

Degraves St traders Theo and Johnny are amazed the council failed to endorse a motion calling for the release of the report. Picture: Brendan Beckett

The state government – which has bought the former Yooralla building on Flinders St for $40.3m – maintained a location for a second injecting room had not been finalised.

A Department of Health spokeswoman defended the newly advertised position.

“This role has existed for many years alongside the established MSIR and is not specific to the proposed CBD facility.”

“The role is to support the operation of the MSIR in North Richmond which has safely managed more than 5300 overdoses and saved at least 44 lives,” the spokeswoman said. “No decision has been made regarding the final location for the Melbourne Supervised Injecting Service.”

The report, by former top cop Ken Lay (pictured with Premier Daniel Andrews) has been massively delayed. Picture: AAP

Opposition mental health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said: “It’s outrageous that Labor are openly recruiting for their second heroin injecting room while Daniel Andrews stubbornly refuses to tell Melburnians where he plans to build it. Daniel Andrews’ excuse of waiting for Ken Lay’s report has lost all integrity and business operators are outraged that they are being kept in the dark until after the election,” she said.

Restaurant king Chris Lucas said the entire Melbourne community was “very concerned” about the issue of injecting rooms.

“I feel as if we are being kept in the dark the entire time,” Mr Lucas said. “It’s really not right or fair on a city that has suffered so much over the last two years. I hope the government accepts that they should and need community support for things like this. It’s us that have to live with the consequences.”