A former New South Wales Liberal leader who denounced pill testing as a drug reform option has been picked by the Labor government to co-chair its highly anticipated drug summit.
John Brogden will lead the summit, which kicks off in regional NSW in November, alongside the former Labor deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt.
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, chose them for the joint role because they were respected “across the aisle” and bring experience, having taken part in the 1999 event that led to the establishment of Sydney’s supervised medical injecting centre.
Brogden broke with his party to vote for the centre but in 2016 told the Sydney Morning Herald he did not support a pill testing trial. He told the paper such a policy could be seen as government facilitation of drug use among non-dependent users.
Pill testing is one of the key issues advocates have called for in the lead-up to the event.
Park insisted that Brogden’s stance did not signify that the government was “baking in” that position but had not asked the former Liberal leader about it directly before appointing him.
“What I do know [is] in this area of public policy, there are different views, and there are different views on a similar continuum,” Park told Guardian Australia.
“I’m not saying that people will have to have the same view, nor do I say that the government is wedded to that. We’re not. We are coming at this in good faith.”
Last year the premier, Chris Minns, said there was no safe level of drug consumption and he refused to commit to a pill testing trial, saying that he would have already implemented it if it was a solution.
Park said he hoped people would give the summit a chance and engage in good faith, as he insisted the government would.
“The reality is, reform in this space, legislation in this space, policy in this space has changed,” Park said.
“We understand that as a government, and we want to make sure that coming out of this are some strong recommendations.”
Brogden and Tebbutt will produce a report containing recommendations and findings after the summit wraps in December, which the government will then consider.
Park said the Labor cabinet was “willing to engage with the recommendations” but would not commit to them being acted upon and at what speed.
Asked about his stance on pill testing now, Brogden declined to clarify.
“Ultimately, we want to save more lives,” he said of the summit.
“The summit will listen to professionals and, importantly, the community, to see how we can do that across all areas where government intersects with drug use and related crime.”
Tebbutt said she was honoured to take part and looked forward to developing “compassionate and effective evidence-based actions”.
“While much has changed since [1999], we know illicit drug use still causes significant harm to individuals, families and communities,” she said.
The summit will include two regional hearings, beginning in Griffith on 1 November and heading to Lismore on 4 November. There will be two days of forums in Sydney in early December.
