The NSW Labor Party Says It Will “Listen To The Experts” On Pill Testing If Elected
"Pill testing should not be off the table."
Over the weekend, another young person died at a music festival after ingesting an unknown substance. Despite yet another avoidable tragedy, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian still refuses to even consider introducing pill testing. At long last, though, NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has said his party is open to the idea.
Speaking in response to death of 22-year-old Josh Tam at Lost Paradise festival over the weekend, Daley said that if Labor wins the March 2019 election, “we’ll convene a drug summit and we’ll listen to all the experts”.
“I want to hear from parents and children, from the clinicians, the ambos, the people who keep these children safe and we will look at all options.”
“If you’re going to say that you’ll listen to the experts, you can’t shut one door to them. Pill testing should not be off the table.”
That still falls short of a commitment to introducing pill testing, and Labor would need to win the March 2019 state election to actually put its money where its mouth is. Still, past Labor leaders have opposed pill testing, and compared to the current NSW government’s repeated refusal to even consider expert advice on pill testing, this could be a step forward.
After all, we already know what the experts will say: pill testing works, and it will save lives. It’s distressing that so many people had to die to get a major party to even consider that expert advice, rather than just insisting that the solution is not taking drugs.
If you want to help get the message across to politicians before anyone else dies, here are some tips on how to show your support. The Take Control campaign also has an open letter you can sign here.