Queen Victoria Market traders fear that supervised injecting room will go ahead at nearby facility
Queen Victoria Market traders concerned that a controversial injecting room will attract anti-social behaviour to the precinct say they’ve been lead to believe the state government isn’t considering any other sites, despite promises of an extensive review.
Victoria
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Queen Victoria Market traders are concerned that a proposed medically supervised injecting room near the market is a done deal.
The Andrews Government wants to put Melbourne’s second injecting room at 35 Victoria St – a move opposed by the City of Melbourne.
Following a backlash from local residents and market traders, the government appointed former police commissioner Ken Lay to lead a community consultation on the Drill Hall site where agency Cohealth Central City already operates.
However, there is confusion as to whether Mr Lay is also considering other sites within the municipality.
This week, market traders told a city council election forum that Mr Lay had been clear at a meeting with them last month.
“I asked Ken Lay at the meeting was there another site, and he told me he was only looking at one site,” said traders’ representative committee chairwoman Jenny Pyke.
Traders are concerned that the injecting room will attract anti-social behaviour including drug taking and dealing in the market precinct.
Melbourne’s existing injecting room is in North Richmond.
A City of Melbourne spokeswoman said the council had provided information to Mr Lay to show why the Victoria St location was not right.
“It is one of the most densely populated areas in the City of Melbourne: opposite the Queen Victoria Market which is the city’s most significant tourist attraction, a transport interchange, child care services and and vulnerable residents. all within hundreds of metres of the state government’s preferred site,” she said.
The spokeswoman said that proper consideration must be given to all the evidence and facts as to an appropriate site.
A government spokeswoman said the preferred site remained the Cohealth facility.
“However, if City of Melbourne identifies an alternative site that meets the criteria laid out by the review panel, the government will remain open to that,” she said.
The spokeswoman said that Mr Lay’s six-month consultation was in two parts.
“The first phase, currently underway, is focused on speaking with health and drug reform experts, analysing key data and seeking initial advice from key stakeholders around the site, including QVM traders and Drill Hall residents,” she said.
“Following this, a broad community consultation phase – including with businesses, residents and people with lived experience of addiction – will be undertaken.”
The spokeswoman said that formal consultations with the City of Melbourne would be a key feature of the second phase.
Mr Lay is expected to report on the merits of the site by the end of 2020.
The official Labor Party ticket is the only major election team that supports the Drill Hall site.
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