LOUIS BURKE | Culture | CONTACT
Due to a combination of pressure and lack of documentation, the Spilt Milk festival has had to shelve the Australian-first pill testing initiative just weeks ahead of the November festival.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope for festival attendees as Greens Party leader, Richard Di Natale, has vowed to make a public appearance at the festival and personally test all of the pills himself.
“It just goes to show how out of touch this government is that they’re not supporting initiatives that have been proven to save the lives of young drug users.”
The last-minute change may also be a blessing in disguise as Di Natale claims his tests will also be able to pick up other things, such as purity and origin.
“I got a palette mate! (Laughs) What can I say!”
Not all are supportive of Di Natale’s commitment to safe drug taking, including members of his own party. Suspended Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon made a public statement:
“He does not know what he’s talking about. There’s no way he’s going to be able to tell you how pure it is by rubbing a bit on his gums and that’s even taking into account the numerous festival goers who are going to be racking or shelving.”
“Once again I feel my skill set has been overlooked by my party. The two of us could have easily split the load, I’ve even brought along the water and chewy.”
When asked to respond to Rhiannon’s comments, Di Natale said it was not in his party’s best interest for Rhiannon to “continually ruin the vibe”
