Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said he was also guided by police in his stance against pill-testing. “Police have expressed a lot of concern that pill testing isn’t the … silver bullet that some people seem to think it is and it could actually put more lives at risk,” he said. Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said field testing of drugs was limited in the harmful substances it could test for. Victoria Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt says pill testing would not stop the use of dangerous recreational drugs. Credit:Alex Murray “Pill testing is not the panacea to stop the use of dangerous recreational drugs,” he said.

Mr Gatt said he was concerned about providing a system that created a “false sense of security” for young people and warned pill testing had the capacity to increase drug use. He said there was much more to be done in enforcement, prevention and an increased focus on accountability of venue and festival operators. Ms Allan said pill testing was a substantially different proposition to the supervised drug injecting room trial operating in North Richmond. She said police were closely involved in the development and rollout of the injecting room trial. In October 2017 the Andrews government announced it would trial Victoria’s first supervised drug injecting room. The announcement came after the Police Association said the previous month that it would not oppose a trial.

The resistance to pill testing from the Andrews government and opposition is at odds with the Australian Medical Association, which wants a trial conducted under "close and particular scrutiny". Six of 11 minor party MPs on Victoria’s upper house crossbench on Monday urged the Andrews government to embrace a trial of pill testing at festivals, arguing the technology is proven and would save young lives. The intervention on pill testing is the first time since the state election that members of Victoria’s eclectic cross-bench have sought to use their combined numbers to pressure the Andrews government. The move was spurred by the deaths of six young people from drug overdose at festivals across Australia in the past five months. Reason Party leader Fiona Patten said on Monday she and five other crossbench MPs were calling for “an urgent trial of pill testing in Victoria”.

“We know pill testing works, the experts agree,” Ms Patten said. A trial could go ahead without legislation, she said, and just needed the approval of Premier Daniel Andrews. “The medics are ready to roll it out, the community wants it, in particular young people want it.” Ms Patten was joined on Parliament’s steps by Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, Animal Justice MP Andy Meddick, Liberal Democrat David Limbrick (one of two new Liberal Democrats in the upper house) and independent Catherine Cumming. Drug law reform proponents have long argued for a pill-testing trial to be launched in Victoria, citing similar services overseas that they say have proven effective in minimising harm.

Labor has 18 of 40 seats in the upper house so will require some crossbench support to pass legislation in the new parliament.