Fresh push for pill testing at Groovin The Moo Canberra

After two last-minute hitches last year, health advocates the STA-SAFE Consortium have again applied to conduct pill testing at the Canberra stop of the Groovin The Moo Festival in April.

Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris’ office confirmed an application had been made.

Her office said, “Should the STA-SAFE Consortium present a proposal to conduct a controlled trial at the Groovin the Moo festival, the ACT Government will consider the proposal on its merits.

“Any proposal would need to be accepted by the University of Canberra, where the festival will be held.”

The ACT has approved pill testing at music festivals, and Minister Fitzharris has told Parliament that her legal advice is that the Government does not need to change laws on drug possession to green-light the tests.

Last year, STA-SAFE came close to doing the tests.

Plans to do it at Groovin The Moo 2017 were cancelled as parties agreed there would not be enough time to organise the tests in time.

It was decided that Spilt Music six months later would be a better option.

But that was derailed over apparent interference from some members of the national Liberal Party – which is against testing as it would suggest advocacy of drug taking – which used the fact that Spilt Music’s site, Commonwealth Park, came under the control of the National Capital Authority.

There was some dispute that documents for the tests had not been filed in time.

In any case, patrons complained that Spilt Music had become so strict about any kind of pills that even those used for periods were not allowed.

Promoter Kick Entertainment said that pills and tampons were available on-site at the medical tent.

Unlike NSW and Victoria, the ACT Government has had a more enlightened approach to minimising risks at music festivals.

It conducted an in-depth study of overseas models and set up a working group to investigate the trials.