EXCLUSIVE: Believe It Or Not, A Melb Council Has Just Voted In Favour Of Pill Testing

Port Phillip Council has voted in favour of pushing the Victorian state government on allowing it to hold the state's first pill testing trials at festivals, clubs and dance parties.

At a meeting on Wednesday night, the council voted on the notion, seven in favour and two against.

Speaking to The Music, Port Phillip councillor, Ogy Simi, said last night's council meeting proved to be a huge success.

"This is really just a starting point for us to have a conversation with the state government about legislative change," Simi says.

The council will now wait for a report to be delivered from some of the officers advising what steps can next be taken, however they hope to meet with Minister for Health, Martin Foley, as soon as possible.

"There was some opposition to this, but as a whole, councillors saw the incredible health benefits that come from this," Simi tells The Music.

"At the end of the day, this is very much about finding a way to save young people's lives.

"We know that prohibition hasn't worked and the war on drugs has failed. This is looking at a new way to address some of the issues that we face in regards to drugs as a community."

The Port Phillip council has already begun looking at models to implement in Australia and are taking inspiration from some internationally-recognised strategies.

"The Dutch model has been very successful," Simi explains.

"It shows that 50% of people who actually have their drugs tested changed their behaviour as a result…we think that is a good model, but we want to work with the state government to identify the best possible model for the Australian context and the best possible time to introduce that model."

The push for pill testing trials follows the death of a punter at Victoria's Rainbow Serpent festival this past weekend, as well as another death and more hospitalisations in the Chapel Street precinct last month, believed to be due to a toxic batch of MDMA.

Despite this, the state government said earlier this week that they have no plans to introduce pill testing in Melbourne.

"It's really unfortunate that the government said that," Simi says.

"We are hoping this will actually pave a new way forward, with the state government knowing they've got a place where they can run a trial safely."