Cr Le Liu moves to overturn council’s past support for CBD injecting room

The debate over a medically supervised injecting service (MSIS) in Melbourne’s CBD will return to Town Hall on November 25, with Cr Phil Le Liu bringing forward a motion to formally overturn the City of Melbourne’s previous support for such a facility.

The notice of motion, to be debated at Tuesday night’s council meeting, seeks to replace the position adopted in 2021 and reaffirmed in 2022, when councillors voted seven to four to back the Victorian Government’s plans for a second injecting room in the CBD. At the time, councillors aligned themselves with the findings of an independent expert panel and growing evidence that supervised injecting facilities saved lives.

Cr Le Liu’s new motion declares that the establishment of an injecting room in the City of Melbourne “is not supported in any form due to the potential adverse impact on safety and amenity of businesses, residents and visitors in surrounding areas”.

If supported, the Lord Mayor and CEO would also be directed to write to the Premier and Health Minister advising of the council’s revised position and urging greater investment in drug rehabilitation programs.

The shift comes after the State Government last year abandoned plans for a CBD injecting room altogether, citing an inability to identify a location that balanced the needs of people who use drugs with those of the wider community. The long-delayed Ken Lay report recommended a small CBD facility, but the government instead opted for a new health hub on Flinders St focused on treatment and outreach.

Cr Le Liu argues that the council must now provide “clarity” on its policy given growing community sentiment against an injecting room. The motion notes strong opposition that arose to previous proposed sites – first at 53 Victoria St in 2020, and later at the former Yooralla building on Flinders St – and references concerns about amenity impacts at North Richmond’s injecting facility.

Cr Phil Le Liu.

But the move also attempts to unwind one of the most passionately contested decisions of the last council term. In 2021, councillors rejected an attempt to oppose an injecting room outright, instead backing what Cr Nick Reece described at the time as an “evidence-based” approach to reducing street-based drug use.

The decision was influenced by data showing the CBD had the second-highest heroin-related ambulance callouts in Victoria, and that the North Richmond service had prevented dozens of fatal overdoses.

The political landscape has since changed. The state government’s decision to walk away from the idea of a CBD MSIS has left its future solely in the realm of local policy and principle. Cr Le Liu’s motion seeks to close the chapter entirely, positioning rehabilitation – rather than supervised injecting – as the City of Melbourne’s preferred approach despite experts stressing the two are entirely different steps towards overcoming addiction.

If adopted, the revised stance would align the council with both state policy and the City of Yarra, which earlier this month withdrew its support for the North Richmond facility in its current location.

However, Mayor Yarra Steven Jolly later attempted to clarify the council’s position by arguing that while he believes “we need more” injecting rooms in Victoria, the state government’s refusal to establish any others had put unsustainable pressure on North Richmond.

He added that the government needed to provide more support services for those who transitioned out of using the facility, as well as the increased social issues that the surrounding area had experienced as a result.

City of Melbourne councillors will vote on the motion on November 25, marking the latest turn in a debate that has spanned five years, multiple sites, and deeply divided community views.