Juliana ADDISON (Wendouree) (11:08): I really welcome the opportunity to stand and contribute to this bill, representing my community and having my say on a bill that is before the house today.

Today I rise to speak in support of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Pill Testing) Bill 2024 and really do genuinely welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate for our state.

First and foremost, I would really like to acknowledge the leadership of the Premier on this important matter and her contribution to the debate. I do share her view that our young people are smart and want information and that they should have access to honest and health-focused information. The evidence tells us that pill testing saves lives and that this harm reduction strategy allows a person who is already in possession of a drug to test it and find out what is actually in it. Many studies have found that pill testing can change people’s drug-taking behaviour, helping to save lives.

The reality in our state is that we have seen a rise in drug-related emergency department admissions and overdose deaths. The data shows that Victorian paramedics responded to more drug overdoses at festivals in the first three months of 2024 than during all of 2023. As a parent and a former teacher, for 12 years I spent time with kids while I was working in the Ballarat Clarendon boarding house and the kids were going to festivals. I was talking to them about being safe, talking to them about making good decisions, talking to them about being informed and saying, ‘Do you really know what you’re doing? Really think and be safe.’

I cannot sit down and not contribute to this important debate that will save lives. It will particularly be important to those young people – the ones that I used to teach and I used to care for, and my own kids, who are 16 and 14, attending their first music festival – and encourage them to make informed decisions about risk-taking behaviour, encourage them to actually ask questions and be informed about what they may or may not take and how the chemicals might impact them and consider whether they actually want to consume these pills at all. We know that pill testing prevents young people from using unusually strong or contaminated drugs. We know that pill testing increases the knowledge consumers have about certain chemicals and drugs and the impact and the effects that they may have.

Importantly, pill testing involves conversations around safer drug use and reducing harm with health professionals. It ultimately saves lives.

One life that was tragically lost was Alex Ross-King, who died of an MDMA overdose at the FOMO Festival in New South Wales in 2019. Alex was just 19 years of age. Her brave mother Jennifer Ross-King is a powerful advocate for reform following the devastating death of her darling daughter. At a press conference on 2 October 2023 in Sydney Jennifer made an emotional plea, begging to make change so no-one else loses a child. Her advocacy was compelling, and her grief was palpable.

The reason I am supporting this bill is to save lives and prevent unnecessary deaths, like Alex’s, that devastate the lives of so many. I want to really thank the Minister for Mental Health in the other place for the work that she and her office have done to bring this bill to this place. I want to thank the department for all their efforts, because this is important legislation.

There is widespread support not only across my community but across Victoria for this reform, whether it be festival goers, concerned parents or healthcare workers, a number of whom have reached out to my office to discuss this issue. Following another unnecessary death of a young person at a music festival, a nurse in her 50s contacted my electorate office to express her concerns and advocate for pill testing. She had never contacted an MP before about any issue but felt compelled to do it over this issue because of her strong support for pill testing and harm minimisation. We had a really interesting and informative discussion about pill testing and harm prevention from her perspective as a nurse. I want to thank her for her advocacy and so many for their advocacy who have shared their knowledge and life experience pertaining to pill testing or the consequences of their loved ones not having access to pill testing.

It was the scientific research and these conversations that have contributed to the introduction of this bill. In June this year the Premier committed to implementing a drug-checking program in Victoria, and this bill will allow for a trial to commence before the end of the year. This complements our state’s $95 million multiyear statewide action plan, which is already well underway and combating drug harm via expanded services, targeted support and strengthened oversight.

This bill proposes amendments to the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 – yes, 1981; it was a long time ago that act was introduced – in order to authorise and establish a framework for drug checking in Victoria, as well as to provide relevant, necessary statutory immunities and protections. The bill will also seek to establish the supply of naloxone via secure automatic dispensing units. Sadly, I am not going to have enough time to talk about the many benefits that those dispensing units will have.

I really do want to spend the next bit of my time talking about how the trial will work and why drug checking is important, because this bill will provide the legislative basis to allow drug-checking services to operate within our state. The proposed Victorian model would begin with an 18-month implementation trial of a mixed service model, with mobile drug-checking services at up to 10 festivals and events as well as at a fixed site in a central location. The trial will provide benefits for those Victorians who make use of these services but will also benefit health services and policy more broadly by providing valuable information about how drug-checking services can be best utilised for our state.

A drug-checking interaction would start with a discussion with a harm reduction worker before a qualified chemist uses a small sample of substance to analyse its content. Findings on the compounds detected as well as their effects and interactions would then be communicated by a health professional or a harm reduction worker. No-one will be told that their drugs are safe. However, crucial harm minimisation advice will be provided, along with the option of safe disposal.

The bill that is before the house provides a framework that will facilitate these interactions. It also clarifies the roles of those involved, including general drug-checking workers authorised to provide harm reduction advice, specialised drug-checking workers who are also trained to handle substances and drug-checking directors overseeing operations at all times. The bill also outlines the activities and requirements of drug-checking permits. These may be issued by the secretary to a fit and proper person, subject to any relevant conditions, and will allow for operation at either an identified fixed site or a mobile service, which must be suitable, sanitary and adequately equipped.

Crucially, this bill also provides a statutory exemption from liability for clients, permit-holders and certain staff. This means that clients can attend a drug-checking place and that the workers can do their jobs without fear of criminal repercussions for possession or supply. These exemptions will not extend to clients possessing trafficable quantities or those who are bound by drug-related legal obligations, including bail obligations. Furthermore, those involved in the provision of drug-checking services will be exempt from certain civil liabilities and from repercussions under codes of conduct for activities conducted in good faith under the permit.

Turning our backs on what is happening is not working. In recent years usage has shifted towards synthetic drugs, and our statistics show how fatal overdoses have grown. I commend this bill to the house.

You can take a look at more of my contributions to Parliament here.