The Victorian State Government Has Approved A Safe Injecting Room Trial
Set for North Richmond
Image: Flickr/Eric Molina
The Victorian state government will trial the state’s first ever safe drug injecting room in North Richmond.
The government got the numbers to get their legislation over the line today, with an announcement set to be made tomorrow.
The trial is set to go for at least two years, followed by a review.
The injecting room will be only the second in Australia after the one established in King’s Cross in Sydney in 2001.
North Richmond has become a hotspot for heroin usage in recent years, with 34 people having lost their lives to overdoses in the Yarra local council area so far in 2017.
The sitting Labor government managed to win support from cross-bench senators, meaning they have the numbers to get past the Coalition’s opposition to the bill.
The proposal has the support of local residents and shopkeepers, as well as the paramedics, nurses and firefighters’ union.