New South Wales will trial pill testing at music festivals after a decades-long push by advocates calling for the government to heed harm reduction evidence.
The Minns government announced on Thursday the 12-month long trial will enable festival goers to take a small sample of narcotics to a health professional to test for purity, potency and adulterants.
“No parent wants to be given the news that something has happened their child at a music festival, and that they are now in an emergency department or worse,” said the state premier, Chris Minns.
“The trial has a clear purpose – to reduce harm and save lives.”
In March, Queensland became the first state to establish two permanent pill testing clinics after Canberra established one in 2022.
Last October, the Minns government had rejected renewed calls to introduce pill testing after two young men died at a music festival.
Jen Ross-King, whose daughter Alex Ross-King died in 2019 at a Sydney music festival after taking MDMA and drinking, was among those calling for the change, imploring the government “listen to the experts”.
The introduction of pill testing was overwhelmingly backed by drug reform advocates at the state’s second drug summit, last month.
The health minister, Ryan Park, said on Thursday the government had decided to introduce the measures based on interim advice by the co-chairs who oversaw the summit, and who are expected to hand down their recommendations early next year.
“As I’ve always said, there are no silver bullets here but if there are any further steps we can take to keep young people safe this festival season we’ll listen to the experts and the evidence,” he said.
The push for pill testing came amid expert calls for the NSW government to decriminalise drugs after ACT became the first state or territory to do so in 2022.
However, this step was controversially ruled out by Park, mid-summit.
In her speech at the summit, the executive director of Harm Reduction Australia, Dr Annie Madden, called for the introduction of pill testing and an end to “harmful” policing practices.
“We simply cannot go through another summer festival season without access to pill testing, and while we’re at it, without ending the harmful and ineffective policing practices, including strip-searching and the use of drug detection dogs,” she said.
In comments marking the announcement of the trial, the minister for police and counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley, said: “Make no mistake – illicit drugs are illegal and harmful.
“Police will not change their approach to drug suppliers at these trial sites. Anyone attempting to supply drugs can expect to be targeted by a police operation and brought before the courts.”
