‘How can the Andrews government think that this is acceptable?’: Residents fight to move injecting room

Calls are growing to relocate the controversial facility away from a primary school as angry residents vow: “We’re not going to stop until the injecting room is moved”.

The Andrews government confirmed in March it would introduce a Bill to make the Richmond injecting room permanent. Picture: Jason Edwards

Frustrated North Richmond residents have once again renewed calls for the controversial injecting room to be moved away from the primary school after a “terrifying” spate of incidents in recent weeks.

A group of residents, who attended a community meeting at the All Nations Hotel on Monday night organised by Liberal upper house MP Evan Mulholland, said they hoped the opposition’s amendments passed this week.

Under the opposition’s amendments, any permanent drug injecting room must be at least 250m from any education or care services.

It would also require annual reports from service providers to increase transparency.

Residents have spoken out about a spate of ‘terrifying’ incidents.

Directors of injecting rooms would also have to pass a fit and proper person test, which has been backed by police union boss Wayne Gatt.

One mother, who is a longtime North Richmond resident and asked not to be named, said she had seen drug users openly inject in front of children in recent weeks.

“How can the Andrews government think that this is acceptable? It’s absolutely terrifying, the injecting room needs to be moved away from the school and it’s finally time our voices are heard.” she said.

Another resident, Chrissy Maynard, said residents were “fighting as a community” to have the injecting room moved.

“We’re not going to stop until the injecting room is moved away from its current location, so it can be away from our children, maternal health centre and all the vulnerable 5000 residents in the housing flats,” Ms Maynard said.

“As a parent it’s really important that we look after the welfare of our children. It’s very scary what is going on here and as a parent we have the right to provide our children with a safe environment.

“Children should not see people overdosing and dead bodies.”

Mr Mulholland said residents were not being listened to by the state government.

“As their local member in the upper house, it’s my job to listen to residents and I thought it was really important to bring together the community before I have the opportunity to speak on the issue on Thursday,” he said.

“It was important that I amplify their views in parliament, so that they do feel heard by the Liberal party.”

Mr Mulholland said he was not against injecting rooms, but stressed it needed to be moved away from the primary school.

“Some of the stories of what kids have had to see is just horrible.

“The Andrews government has taken no feedback, consultation, advice or research from the experience in New South Wales, no one is having debates about the injecting room in Sydney because it is not an issue.”

Greens want to open injecting room to young drug users

Kids would be free to inject drugs under a controversial plan by the Victorian Greens to broaden access to the state’s only supervised injecting room.

Legislation to turn the North Richmond supervised injecting room into a permanent facility will be debated in parliament this week, with the Greens set to introduce sweeping amendments to the Bill.

This would allow children under 18, pregnant women and people subject to court orders which didn’t prohibit them from accessing such a service to use the facility.

Greens’ drug harm spokesman Aiv Puglielli said the amendments were based on expert health advice.

There are concerns about having the centre so close to Richmond West primary school.

“If the experts are calling for more safe injecting facilities in areas across the state where drug use is affecting communities and where people are dying, then the government should support them, not back away from expert health advice,” he said.

“People are using injectable drugs. Leaving people out in the open, without medical supervision, to use these substances will lead to more deaths and will put people and communities in harm’s way.”

The push by the Greens comes as the state opposition moves to introduce its own amendments to have the facility relocated entirely.

The injecting room is now located next door to the Richmond West primary school.

The push for it to be moved comes as the Andrews government faces questions about why it did not listen to the serious safety concerns raised by the school community.

The Herald Sun has obtained a leaked 2021 letter from the school council that was written to the government after a meeting with then ministers James Merlino and Martin Foley.

It outlined that the school was “very concerned” about a decrease in enrolments due to safety fears.

Residents and the school community have raised serious safety fears.

“School council has identified a likely and foreseeable risk of catastrophic harm and is calling on the Victorian government for urgent and immediate intervention,” it read.

A parent, who asked not to be named, said the government had ignored the concerns.

“Children are still witnessing drug users openly inject and overdose,” the parent said.

Directors of injecting rooms would also have to pass a fit and proper person test, which has been backed by police union boss Wayne Gatt.

Mr Gatt said requiring owners and operators of centres that deal with illicit drugs to be deemed “fit and proper persons” is “hardly controversial”.

“The amendments appear to address some of the long-held public concerns raised by Richmond residents regarding the location of the injection centre and its impact on local amenity. This is something our members have echoed,” he said.

Opposition Mental Health spokeswoman Emma Kealy said the amendments sought to strike a “sensible balance” by ensuring an injecting room was not situated next to a primary school again.

“Injecting rooms simply don’t belong next to primary schools,” she said.

“The school community have raised serious concerns around dangerous drug-related incidents and crime outside the injecting room for years, but Labor has stubbornly refused to listen.”

A government spokesman said: “We’re supporting Richmond West Primary School to ensure the safety of all students and staff – with new secure fencing, CCTV coverage and extra supervision before and after school during pick-up and drop-off times.”