Professional Documents
Culture Documents
RE: Grounds and Reasons to Close the Kings Cross Injecting Room
In the near future, you will be asked to vote on the Drug Summit Legislative Response Amendment Bill 2007
(the “Bill”). The purpose of the Bill is to extend the operation of the Kings Cross Injecting Room for another four
years until 31st October 2011.
The attached booklet prepared by Drug Free Australia titled “The Kings Cross Injecting Room – The Case for
Closure” outlines in detail the grounds and reasons why the facility should be closed.
Detailed below are six key arguments why the Kings Cross Injecting Room should be closed:
1
Final Report of the Evaluation of the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre p 38
Thursday, 14th June 2007
Final Report of the Evaluation of the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre page 51
2
Final Report of the Evaluation of the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre p 61
3 United Nations International Narcotic Control Board, in its 2001 report, paragraph 559
4
Final Report of the Evaluation of the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre p 58
Thursday, 14th June 2007
6. The design of the facility provides cubicles for pairs to ‘share’ the experience of injecting
• The design of cubicles for pairs or partners to inject
together creates a risk of induction of new users by
experienced users bringing new users into the facility on
the grounds that it is a ‘safe’ place for first use.
• Access to the facility relies on self reporting of previous
usage - with preparation an established user and new
user can get around this interview.
• Reports of addicts managing their way around protocols
are on the record in the Sunday Telegraph Dec 10, 2006.
Regarding report of the drug to be used one ICE user stated: "I just don't tell them. They don't care;
they just write you down on a piece of paper,'' he said. "You just say, `I'm doing hammer (heroin)' and
go boom, boom quickly. Just keep it quiet.''
• Nurses are required to intervene if one partner tries to physically assist the other to use. There is
nothing to prevent a ‘show and tell’ demonstration of how to inject between a pair in a shared cubicle.
It is transparently clear to all interested observers that the legislation to come before parliament is actually not
about extending the trial. It is about institutionalising the facility, while retaining the title of a “trial” lest there be
adverse public reaction or request(s) for trials elsewhere in Sydney or New South Wales. The trial in fact was
conducted and concluded in 2002-3. It was given a further extension to 2007. The data gathered and
reproduced here provides an evidence-based case for the closure of the injecting room.
Over $15 million has been spent running the facility since it opened. At least another $10 million will be spent
running it if the ‘trial’ is extended to October, 2011. This has been, and would continue to be, a huge
expenditure on a single facility, when that sum could be deployed on a whole range of support, treatment and
rehabilitation programs.
We respectfully ask you to carefully consider this matter over the coming days and look at all the material put
before you. For the reasons outlined above we ask that you do not support the Bill.
Yours sincerely,
Jo Baxter
Executive Officer, Drug Free Australia