A new sobering up centre in Melbourne’s inner northeast is facing delays as the premier defends the state’s new public drunkenness laws, set to kick in next week.
The new 20-bed clinic, being established at 3 Cambridge St in Collingwood, is weeks behind schedule, with the decriminalisation of public intoxication taking effect on Melbourne Cup Day, November 7.
The delays have sparked concern from Victorian Police, who fear the state is not prepared for the reforms, passed in 2021, to kick in.
Police Association Victorian secretary Wayne Gatt has warned there is only one ‘sobering up centre’, a key feature of the reforms, in operation, which raises concerns for those needing help outside the city.
“What services will be utilised in every other part of Victoria?” he asked.
Once the Collingwood centre is open, a current trial facility will close down.
Mr Gatt has said Victoria is “woefully underprepared” for the changes.
“Despite repeated calls for the government to adopt progressive reform with a dose of common sense, it has forged ahead recklessly,” he said.
“Now, it finds itself just days away from turning the tap off on policing services and replacing it with nothing.”
The process of decriminalising public intoxication follows key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and came after the death of Yorta Yorta woman Aunty Tanya Day in 2021.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan stood by the timing of the incoming changes, highlighting the impact a historically justice-based response to drunkenness had had on vulnerable community members.
“Being drunk in public shouldn’t be a crime,” she said.
“The vast majority of people who go about their social life, they shouldn’t have that fear of ending up in a jail cell as a consequence of going out.
“Particularly when you look at Victorians who have been disproportionately affected by public drunkenness, … too many of our first First Peoples, too many Indigenous Victorians, have ended up in a jail cell.”
While Mr Gatt said he supported the principle of the reforms, said the services were not adequate for responding to situations outside Melbourne.
He has also expressed concern over the management of situations where intoxicated individuals refused to attend the sobering up clinic.
Under the changes, a dedicated phone line will be established where first responders, such as police officers, will be able to liaise with health workers to evaluate appropriate next steps.
If consent is given, individuals will be taken to the sobering up clinic within which specialist staff will offer access to various health and social services.
The state’s transition towards a health-based response will be spearheaded in Melbourne by street-based outreach teams and transportation services.
Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police will continue to respond to incidents where there are risks posed to the community or where there are emergency health concerns.
“From next week what we are going to be putting in place is a range of support … because for the vast majority of people who are out and about, they just need a bit of support to get home, and that’s what will happen in the vast majority of instances,” Ms Allan said.
“For a small number of people, if there’s a bit of a health risk or a safety risk, there is the existing network of support, police and ambulance officers who provide that support.
“It’s a commonsense approach to make sure that people can still go out (and) … enjoy their social time, out with family and friends and loved ones, knowing that being intoxicated in public (isn’t) a crime.”
Non-profit community health organisation cohealth, which will operate the new Collingwood clinic, will have the capacity to treat more than 140 patients each week.
It follows a 12-month trial of a Sobering Service on Gertrude St in which cohealth said ambulance call-outs were reduced and people were diverted from emergency departments.
The Gertrude St trial site will continue operations until the Collingwood facility has opened, which the government still maintains will happen in November.