Festival midnight ‘is like a war zone’

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said music festivals at midnight were “like war zones” as he reaffirmed his blunt opposition to pill testing.

“If your local pub or RSL ... looked like a dance festival did, there’d be an absolute outcry . ... festivals ... they’re like war zones,” Mr Fuller said.

“I just don’t know why what we accept as a safe venue ... is different for a music festival.”

But he has offered to back “amnesty bins” to allow patrons to turf drugs before they reach sniffer dogs at the gate.

He remains unconvinced pill testing technology is good enough to give an immediate, reliable report on what is in a drug.

“(NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant) is a very moderate sort of person and explained it to me in such clear terms,” he said.

“If MDMA was going to become a legal drug and a pharmaceutical company was going to produce that, they would spend 6–10 years testing that. This idea that a tablet manufactured in someone’s garage by someone who probably doesn’t have a school certificate ... every tablet has a different consistency.

“I just find it hard to find any argument that pill testing is safe and it will save lives.”

Asked whether it was better young people had some information about their drugs than none, he said the problem was the message sent by pill testing.

“I think this idea that pill testing is making a dangerous drug safe is just the wrong message.

“Now, we also know that when an event runs for more than six hours that you need to double and triple dose the MDMA.

“We know the temperature has a major impact ... so it is truly a complex issue.”

Mr Fuller was the driving force behind Criminal Infringement Notices at festivals with a $400 fine for small drug possession. He was open to other “harm minimisation” tactics that do not require charging a young person and sending them to court.

“I’m happy with amnesty bins, you know, if you want to put a bin somewhere … put it before the drug dogs, I’m happy with that,” he said.

“If there are smart strategies that will protect kids I’d be all for it.”

“But just trying to covertly legalise drugs, I don’t accept that.”