Addiction workers back push for more Victorian safe injecting rooms in Melbourne suburbs
Drug rehabilitation services have backed a push from crossbench MP Fiona Patten for three more safe injecting rooms in Melbourne’s suburbs.
Ms Patten, who is an Upper House MP and the leader of the Reason Party, suggested the new sites be set up at St Kilda, Footscray and Dandenong.
They would take the state’s safe injecting facilities to five, including the site that has run at North Richmond since 2018 and another planned for Melbourne’s CBD near the Queen Victoria Market.
“When you look at the ambulance callout statistics it’s very clear that we need these types of centres in other areas of Melbourne, not just Richmond,” Ms Patten said.
“The reason the injecting room was opened in North Richmond was because the community was concerned,” she said.
“They were concerned about the 24/7 ambulance callouts, the people dying literally in their front gardens, the people overdosing on their front footpath.
“There is similar community concern in other areas of Melbourne.”
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Read the full article on the ABC’s website.
3AW Breakfast with Ross and Russell 11/5/21 – audio
Reason Party Leader Fiona Patten wants the number of medically supervised injecting rooms increased to five.
Ms Patten wants future sites to be smaller and more discreet than the existing injecting room in North Richmond, and should offer pill testing.
Click PLAY below to hear Fiona Patten on air with Ross and Russel
Fiona Patten wants more safe injecting rooms, pill testing sites across Melbourne
An outspoken MP wants new safe injecting rooms in three Melbourne suburbs to combat drug deaths and ambulance callout numbers.
By Rhiannon Tuffield | Image: News Corp Australia
A Victorian politician says the government should be building more safe injecting rooms right across Melbourne, in a bid to curb deaths and reduce ambulance callouts.
Fiona Patten wants to increase the number of supervised injecting rooms in Melbourne to five, after the government committed to building a second facility in Melbourne’s CBD last year.
Alongside the existing North Richmond facility, and a second centre proposed for the CBD, the Reason Party leader has suggested locations in St Kilda, Footscray and Dandenong.
“People are dying from overdoses, not just in North Richmond but in various other parts of the city and we should respond to that by opening location specific facilities,” Ms Patten told NCA Newswire.
“The new ones could be very much tailored to the locations.”
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“The types of drugs that are starting to emerge are a lot stronger than heroin, and if users could test that we would be able to collect a lot more data about what’s on the market, and we’d also save more lives,” Ms Patten said.
“I think the people who have had to call an ambulance because someone was dying in their driveway, or have had to provide CPR to someone on the street – we know they want to see a different approach.”
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Access the full article on News.com.au
Use of cannabis hearings – Snapshot 2
At public hearings into the use of cannabis in Victoria, Dr Erin Lalor, Jill Karena and Laura Bajurny provided insights on behalf of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. Here’s a snapshot, with more information on the parliamentary committee inquiry available at parliament.vic.gov.au/cannabisinquiry.
This public hearing took place on Thursday, 25 March 2021.
3AW Mornings with Neil Mitchell, May 4th 2021 – audio
Interview with Fiona Patten, Reason Party Leader. She discusses the government’s proposed Electric Vehicle tax, and a range of issues coming up in state parliament this week.
Click PLAY below to hear the conversation.
ABC Goulburn Murray Mornings with Alice Walker – audio
Interview with Fiona Patten, leader of the Reason Party and chair of the committee before the inquiry into the use of cannabis in Victoria, where ABC Goulburn Murray is broadcasting from Bright.
Press PLAY below to listen to the conversation.
Use of cannabis hearings – Snapshot 1
Hearings are continuing for the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee inquiry into the use of cannabis in Victoria. Recently, Tamar Todd from UC Berkeley School of Law and Dr Kevin Sabet of Smart Approaches to Marijuana shared their experiences of legalisation in the United States. Here’s a snapshot, with more information available at parliament.vic.gov.au/cannabisinquiry.
This public hearing held on Thursday, 25 March 2021.
“Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good”
By Sean Car
Reason Party leader Fiona Patten is your local member for the seat of Northern Metropolitan in the Victorian upper house (Legislative Council) of parliament. But what does that mean for locals in practice?
As an independent, Fiona’s vote is incredibly valuable to the government which only holds 17 of the 40 upper house seats, meaning her ability to advocate for change on many critical laws and issues is stronger than what many may assume.
But with a “whopping great electorate” spanning from Craigieburn to the CBD and incorporating 11 lower house seats, including that of Melbourne held by Greens MP Ellen Sandell, her role is more focused on policy than “fix the traffic light type issues”.
However, don’t think this prevents her from getting out in the community to hear from her constituents on all fronts. If anything, providing independent access to government through advocating and holding decision-makers accountable makes her the most effective representative locals could ask for…
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Read the full article on the CBD News website.
Criminal justice parliamentary inquiry to probe appointment of judges, magistrates
Victoria’s growing prison population, along with the state’s appointment of judges, is set to be probed under a fresh review.
By
The appointment of Victorian judges and magistrates will come under scrutiny in a wide-ranging review into the state’s criminal justice system.
The state parliamentary inquiry will probe Victoria’s growing prison population, and ways to reduce rates of criminal recidivism.
Under its terms of reference it will also consider the appointment of judicial officers, and look to outside Victoria for ways the system could be improved.
And it will examine “how to ensure that judges and magistrates have appropriate knowledge and expertise when sentencing and dealing with offenders”…
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Committee chair Fiona Patten said submissions would identify what issues were of most concern.
“This is a unique opportunity for experts and members of the Victorian community to make a submission to a major inquiry on the current operation of our criminal justice system and how it might be improved,” Ms Patten said.
“We welcome contributions on aspects of the system such as crime rates, remand populations, imprisonment levels, specific prisoner cohorts, strategies to reduce offending, and alternatives to prison.
“It will also examine the appointment and training of judges.”
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Access the full article on the Herald Sun’s website.
3AW Mornings with Tony Jones 6/8/21 – audio
Interview with Fiona Patten, Leader of the Reason Party. Tony Jones opens the conversation about The Church of Scientology, which Ms Patten says has very few members in Australia. Ms Patten explains that they are moving money from their donors and people who invest in Scientology in the US to Australia, which gives them a tax advantage and allows them to invest in real estate.
Click PLAY below to listen to the conversation