CAMPAIGN FOR SYRINGE MACHINES

An influential Melbourne health forum is lobbying the State Government to
trial syringe vending machines in areas of high drug use.

The Yarra Drug and Health Forum says the trial could be modelled on NSW's
syringe vending machine program, now in its 10th year.

The forum met with Department of Human Services representatives and,
according to minutes from its July meeting, found them to be "quite
receptive" to the proposal.

Maribyrnong and Port Phillip have expressed an interest in participating in
the trial. Both municipalities, along with the cities of Melbourne, Yarra
and Greater Dandenong, were identified as areas of high-level drug activity
by the State Government's drug policy committee.

The forum - a network of health and welfare agencies, police, government
departments, residents and businesspeople - wants subsidised machines to be
located in drug hot spots to provide heroin users with 24-hour access to
syringes.

The proposal is likely to spark heated debate on where the machines should
be located and whether they would encourage drug use. Ratepayers rejected a
similar proposal in 2001 when it was canvassed by Melbourne City Council.

A Government spokesman said there were no plans for the Department of Human
Services to recommend a trial to Health Minister Bronwyn Pike.

The spokesman, Bram Alexander, said department representatives had not
attended any of the forum's meetings.

He said the department had, however, gathered information on syringe
vending machines over the past few years to keep up to date on health
protection measures.

The forum has provided the department with an evaluation of the NSW syringe
vending machine program in an attempt to support its proposal. About 80
syringe vending machines now operate across NSW, in both metropolitan and
rural areas, after a trial in 1993. The most recent was set up in the ACT,
at Queanbeyan.

The machines are generally converted cigarette vending machines and are
situated outside hospitals or community health centres. They distribute
Fitpacks that contain five or 10 needles, cotton swabs and water, as well
as advice on safe injecting.

The $1 to $3 cost of each Fitpack is subsidised by the Government.

The forum's executive officer, Jocelyn Snow, said she did not want to
pre-empt the minister's stance on the proposal but if a trial was approved,
the vending machines should be installed in the city's five drug hot spots
as well as regional areas - possibly Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton
or Morwell.

Ms Snow said it was hoped introducing syringe vending machines would help
curb the practice of sharing needles and, therefore, the spread of HIV and
hepatitis C.

According to the Australian National Council on AIDS, Hepatitis C and
Related Diseases, of the 16,000 new infections of hepatitis C reported in
2001, 91 per cent was through intravenous drug use.

Ms Snow said syringe vending machines would cater for drug users who were
unwilling to use the needle exchange program because of fear of being
recognised.

Port Phillip Mayor Liz Johnstone said that while accessibility of drug
services was an important issue, particularly for street-based users, she
had reservations about the introduction of syringe vending machines.

If the Government were to approve a trial, the council would proceed
cautiously on the matter, Ms Johnstone said.

A spokeswoman for the City of Maribyrnong said the council would wait to
see an evaluation of the NSW trials before it adopted a formal position on
the introduction of syringe vending machines.