Heroin deals end needle program

Monica Videnieks, The Australian, July 12 2003

Cabramatta - arguably Australia's most notorious heroin hotspot - has lost its only drug support and needle exchange program.

The Carr government has ordered the Drug Intervention Service Cabramatta be shut down from the end of the month, after police surveillance revealed the centre had a "honeypot effect" and attracted illegal drug deals, which were taking place out-side on the footpath.

A government source yesterday said police also suspected drug deals were taking place - or were at least being organised - by clients within the premises.

The decision to close the government-owned service came just days after the NSW Government released a final, positive evaluation of the Kings Cross heroin injection room, which now looks set to become a permanent fixture in Sydney's red light district.

The independent report on the Kings Cross trial concluded there was no "honeypot" effect in the area.  The honeypot effect is the theory that criminals and bad elements are attracted to a drug centre.  This was one of the major reasons given against setting up an injection room in Cabramatta in the past.

While the Government has no plans to expand the program into other drug plagued areas of NSW, Canberra now appears likely to host the nation's second supervised injection room.

Since the injection room was opened in Kings Cross 18 months ago, several NSW health and community groups have called for a similar program in Cabramatta.

NSW Health Minister Morris Iemma said the Cabramatta services would be redirected to other drug services in southwest Sydney.

Fairfield Councillor Thang Ngo said the decision to close the centre was illogical and inconsistent, especially when the state government was on the verge of making the medically supervised injection room in Kings Cross permanent.

"It is outrageous that they would look at closing the (DISC) service down rather than policing the problem," Cr Ngo said yesterday.

"This is just a cop out."

He said Cabramatta could be a candidate for another injection room.

But Cabramatta Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Ross Treyvaud said only a "no tolerance" attitude to drugs would work.

"Harm minimisation does not work in Cabramatta there is definitely a honeypot effect there, the street prostitution and drug deals are all up where the (drug centre) is," Mr Treyvaud said.