The last summit was held in 1999, and resulted in the creation of the Kings Cross injecting room.

NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley has announced he will hold a “drug summit” if elected at the upcoming state election, in response to the recent surge in drug overdoses at music festivals across the state.

Over the weekend a 19-year-old woman died of a suspected drug overdose at FOMO Festival in Sydney, marking the fifth death in six months at NSW music festivals, beginning with two at defqon.1 music festival in September.

The deaths have created a wave of pressure on NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who so far has refused to budge on her stance against pill testing trials. In a press conference today, Daley called out the premier for cementing “her feet to the floor” on the issue, and confirmed a Labor government would hold a drug summit to explore all options.

“There’s a community discussion going on right now…about how to keep our young people safe,” Daley said. “The premier has discounted the experts to even talk about pill testing. The premier, out of lockstep with the community, not even wanting to take part in or front up to this public debate, has cemented her feet to the floor.”

“My stance on pill testing is very clear: We’ll hold a drug summit if I become the Premier. Just like the very successful drug summit that was held by Bob Carr.”

Watch the press conference below.

Pressure is mounting on Premier @GladysB to reconsider her position on pill testing after a 5th person died of a suspected overdose. “We’ll hold a drug summit if I become the Premier. Just like the very successful drug summit that was held by @bobjcarr” – @michaeldaleyMP. #nswpol pic.twitter.com/R7eSRTkuYG — 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) January 14, 2019

The former NSW premier Bob Carr held a drug summit in 1999 to combat the rising heroin epidemic that was sweeping Sydney. The summit resulted in the creation of the Kings Cross injecting room — now seen as one of the most significant public health reforms in the state’s history.

“We were in a position back then at Kings Cross where people were dying daily in alleyways and car parks,” Carr said of the summit in 2014. “It [the injecting centre] made life far easier for paramedics who had to go and handle high-risk situations in the streets. It defined heroin dependency as a medical problem and it provided a portal for treatment.”

Daley’s comments come after Berejiklian was slammed by Sunrise host David Koch this morning, who accused her of being “dogmatic” about pill testing. “Parents, experts, they all want pill-testing, it’s been going on in Europe for 20 years,” he told her. “So many kids are dying, though. You’re not listening, they’re kids.”

If you want to show your support for pill testing, here’s how you can do it. You can also sign the latest change.org petition here.