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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 5 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1371 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

Minister and, indeed, all my state and territory colleagues on the prospect of a scientifically based prescription heroin trial of registered addicts in the ACT.

This government also supports a supervised place for illicit substance abusers to go when they wish to inject or ingest their substance of choice or abuse. I do not resile from the view, which I have often expressed, that we should be expansive and think laterally about the way to deal with illicit substance abuse within our community. I believe that there are very good reasons for establishing such a place in the ACT.

New South Wales have proceeded with the trial of a supervised injecting place in Sydney. The government's position on the establishment of such a place here is that we should take advantage of the outcomes of the Sydney trial before making a final decision about whether or not to proceed. We had all hoped and expected that the Sydney results would be finalised this year. The fact that New South Wales have extended the assessment of their trial by some time-it may even be up to a year-has at least caused me to stop and think. But at this stage we have done no more than that in response to that delay.

I am disappointed that the New South Wales trial will not now be concluded for a year beyond what we were anticipating, and the delay is frustrating. Nevertheless, we remain committed as a matter of principle to such a place being established in the ACT. All the signals to date coming from the New South Wales injecting place have been incredibly positive. As Mr Moore was wont to say, it would offer the best imaginable gateway for addicts of illicit substances to treatment, counselling, detoxification and simple health services in relation to their addiction and the issues that flow from being addicted to an illicit substance.

It is generally accepted that there has been a drought in the supply of heroin to Australia over the last couple of years, and to some extent that has skewed the debate, in that there have been far fewer overdose deaths than usual over the last 18 months or so. I do not have the precise figures, but I understand that the rate of ambulance call-outs for illicit drug overdoses has dropped by up to 80 per cent.

If the number of overdose deaths and the amount of heroin on the streets has declined significantly, in the minds of some that should be taken into account in our consideration of an injecting room trial. It is relevant; it is something we should take into account. But I am advised by the police and workers in the areas of drug support and drug use that matching the decline in the availability of heroin has been an increase in the supply and availability of other substances, particularly amphetamines and cocaine. These substances present users with a whole range of other matters for concern and consideration, including their health.

I believe the heroin drought will end. It is a belief I have, based on nothing other than a cynical view of the nature of humankind. I believe in the inevitably of a return to the streets of Canberra-and Australia-of significant amounts of heroin. I have been told that that is already happening. Despite that, through needle exchanges and pharmacies, we have still distributed about 700,000 needles over the last 12 months. Supply of

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