'Faces of these young people will remain with me': Coroner urges sweeping changes on drugs

A NSW coroner has called on the NSW Police Commissioner to cease a punitive approach in regards to personal drug use and concentrate on those supplying the drugs in her findings into music festival deaths.

Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame has also been highly critical of law enforcement tactics at festivals and has condemned the widespread use of strip searches to detect drug possession.

Ms Grahame said there was strong evidence pointing towards the potential harm caused by police sniffer dogs at festivals and that they didn't deter drug users, who were pushed towards more dangerous consumption methods.

She said there was a system that mandated the use of sniffer dogs and strip searches "for a possible transgression which, even if confirmed, can be treated less seriously than some minor traffic offences."

Ms Grahame said she agreed with the view "that there is sound evidence that high-visibly policing and use of drug detection dogs at music festivals is a harmful intervention."

Alex Ross-King, 19, died after attending a music festival in January this year.

Her extensive findings from the inquest examining the deaths of six young revellers after consuming MDMA preceded a raft of recommendations that called for pill testing, a drug summit, consideration of decriminalisation, and the roll-back of policing powers at festivals.

She has specifically urged Police Commissioner Mick Fuller to cease a punitive approach in regards to personal drug use and concentrate on supply.

A set of draft recommendations prompted NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to double down on her opposition to the on-site testing of drugs, insisting her position on illegal drug taking would not change and arguing pill testing gave users a false sense of security.

The findings were officially handed down before a packed courtroom at the NSW Coroners Court in Lidcombe on Friday, where more than three weeks of evidence was heard relating to the circumstances of the deaths of Alex Ross-King, 19, Joshua Tam, 22, Callum Brosnan, 19, Joseph Pham, 23, Diana Nguyen, 21, and Nathan Tran, 18.

All had attended music events in NSW between December 2017 and January this year.

Ms Grahame said the deaths were "completely unexpected and profoundly tragic" and described each person as "gifted, vibrant, well-connected and very much loved."

"These six young people enriched the lives of their families and friends," she said.

Julie Tam, the mother of Joshua, spoke on behalf of the many parents in saying the issue could not be ignored by the government, who she urged to embrace the recommendations.

"We ask those who have the ability to effect change to put aside politics and the popular vote, and to make a decision to keep our kids safe, your kids safe, Mrs Tam said.

The inquest heard from medical experts, harm reduction advocates, the music industry, law enforcement and festival punters. Ms Grahame also attended two festivals, including Splendour in the Grass near Byron Bay, where a pill testing seminar was held.

She said the government needed to look upon the need to prevent drug-related harm at music festivals with "fresh eyes" and "there is a need to reframe our main priority from reducing drug use to reducing drug death."

Ms Grahame said after considering the evidence from experts "at the top of their professions" she was of the view that pill testing should be trialled.

"I am in no doubt whatsoever that there is sufficient evidence to support a drug checking trial," she said.

Joshua Tam, 22, died after consuming MDMA at the Lost Paradise music festival on the Central Coast in December 2018.

The coroner said while her participation in the process was complete, "the faces of these young people will remain with me going forward, along with the hope that improvements will be made."

Jennie Ross-King, the mother of Alex, praised the findings and echoed the call for pill testing to be introduced.

"What she has done here is going to save someone's life, that is if our elected officials take on these recommendations," she said.

In response to Ms Berejiklian's comments that pill testing would give a green light to drug users, Ms Ross-King said, "it's not giving the green light, there's no green lights. Nobody's saying that it's okay. None of these experts that I speak to have ever said, 'it's okay to take drugs'."

Former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Palmer said methods of policing at festivals were putting young officers in "conflict with the very people they need the most support from."

"Most of the festivalgoers are the same age as the police officers who are tasked to go in there. A lot of those people, men and woman, off-duty are likely to have similar habits. This is the world in which we live," Mr Palmer said.