Latest news with #MidnightMafia
ABC News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Police sniffer dogs to patrol Midnight Mafia festival despite drug summit recommendation
Sniffer dogs will patrol a Sydney music festival where pill testing is set to be trialled this weekend, with the Minns government again refusing to act on a key recommendation of its drug summit. Police say drug detection dogs will be deployed "throughout the precinct" of the Midnight Mafia festival at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday with a "focus on detecting supply". Earlier this month, While the government is yet to officially respond to the report, NSW Premier Chris Minns has expressed a reluctance to implement that advice. "I'm not prepared to say in relation to this big music festival, 'Look it's a big green light, if you're going to ingest drugs, the police aren't going to be there'," Mr Minns said on Wednesday. "I think that that would send the wrong message, and I think it would have the unintended consequence of seeing more people take and ingest the drugs — not less." Photo shows A scientist testing a pill-like substance. New synthetic substances are appearing in recreational drugs across Australia, increasing the risk of harm. Could pill testing change that? The report was criticised for not going far enough, including by the Redfern Legal Centre and Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who called for drug detection dogs to be banned permanently rather than merely during the trial. At the time, Ms Faehrmann said there was no excuse not to act on the recommendations, which she labelled "politically palatable". The report found "considerable support" for scrapping sniffer dogs at music festivals, with concerns their presence led to "panic consumption" and increased the risk of overdose. But it noted the law enforcement view that withdrawing dogs "may increase organised crime at events". Critics also pointed to the low accuracy of drug dogs. Critics have pointed to the low accuracy of drug dogs. ( AAP: Dean Lewins ) In 2019, an inquest into music festival deaths found that drugs were discovered in just 24 per cent of personal searches of people that dogs had indicated were carrying drugs. The organiser of Midnight Mafia, HSU Events, has warned festivalgoers to expect a police operation involving drug detection dogs. "HSU Events do not condone the possession or use of illegal drugs," the company said in a social media post this week. Pill testing trial for festival Midnight Mafia will be the second festival to participate in the state's pill testing trial, after NSW Health debuted its drug checking service at the Yours and Owls event in Wollongong in March. Pill testing will take place at the festival. ( ABC Illawarra: Mikalya McQuirk-Scolaro ) About 100 attendees submitted their drugs for testing at Yours and Owls, with 10 per cent of samples turning out to be a different substance. Sniffer dogs were present at the festival too, At the same event, 23 people were charged with drug possession offences. Pill testing was also amongst the summit's recommendations, but a trial of it was announced months before the report's release. The premier indicated that police would not be targeting those using the drug checking service at Midnight Mafia, which is expected to draw a crowd of 23,000. "Obviously it would be counterproductive if you had a tent … where drug testing took place, or pill testing took place, and then the individual was immediately nabbed as they walked out of the tent," Mr Minns said. "The protocol is very clear in relation to that, and police won't be enforcing that aspect of law enforcement," he said.
Canberra Times
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Canberra Times
Pill test trial will keep music festivalgoers safe
Midnight Mafia - to be held on May 3 at Sydney Showground - will be the second music festival in NSW to participate in the state-backed trial aimed at drug harm reduction. The festival draws more than 20,000 attendees annually.
Perth Now
28-04-2025
- Perth Now
Pill test trial will keep music festivalgoers safe
Music festivalgoers in one state will be able to "make more informed decisions" about any substances they wish to consume, with a controversial pill-testing trial being rolled out. Midnight Mafia - to be held on May 3 at Sydney Showground - will be the second music festival in NSW to participate in the state-backed trial aimed at drug harm reduction. The festival draws more than 20,000 attendees annually. The first, in March, was the Yours and Owls festival in Wollongong, where 100 punters used the facility. Police also charged 23 people with possessing prohibited drugs and kicked out six patrons, with the government emphasising "illicit drugs remain illegal in NSW." Health Minister Ryan Park said the 12-month trial where up to 10 sites will be included was a crucial health intervention. "This trial is about helping festivalgoers make more informed decisions about drug use with the goal of reducing harm and saving lives," he said on Tuesday. The free and anonymous drug-checking service allows patrons to bring a small sample of substances they intend to consume for analysis. Qualified health staff provide a rapid evaluation of the main components of the substances in line with available technology, and an indication of potency where possible. Advocates say pill testing is a proven harm minimisation strategy used in many countries for decades, while opponents say it sends mixed messages about the risks of using and possessing illicit drugs. The announcement of the second festival to participate in the trial comes after a contentious drug summit report released earlier in April. Among its 56 recommendations was a pilot phase to stop the use of sniffer dogs and strip-searching festival patrons suspected of possessing drugs. Drug-checking was also the top recommendation of a 2019 inquiry into the deaths of six young people at music festivals when Coroner Harriet Grahame found evidence to support community- and festival-based services was "compelling". That recommendation was rejected by the then-Liberal government, which opted instead for amnesty bins at festival entrances.
