Guards at the ACT's jail have voted overwhelmingly against a needle exchange at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, a move described as "bitterly disappointing" by Justice Minister Shane Rattenbury and public health advocates.
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The vote leaves the government's plans for a prison needle and syringe program in serious jeopardy, and means a key element of the Labor-Greens 2012 parliamentary agreement has not been achieved.
The guards voted down the needle exchange 151 to four, following more than a year of consultation and negotiations.
The needle exchange was designed to prevent inmates from sharing and using dirty needles behind bars in an effort to curb the spread of hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases.
Guards strongly opposed the plan, saying giving inmates needles was unworkable and would put them in considerable danger.
Following a lengthy stalemate, the government and Community and Public Sector Union, which represents guards, struck an agreement to consider a needle syringe model that would address the concerns of guards.
Public Health Association of Australia chief executive officer Michael Moore, a former ACT health minister and one of the key proponents of the needle exchange, said the result of the ballot was not surprising.
Mr Moore signalled he was considering legal action to try to force the government to implement a needle exchange at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
"This is, of course, not surprising but very disappointing," he said. "I think we have now wasted three or four years in getting to this stage.
"I don't consider the issue dead at all, the next step is to consider legal avenues and the role of government in terms of duty of care.
"We know a number of people have become Hepatitis C positive at the jail. We know exactly how this could have been prevented."
But the union said guards had participated in good faith, had listened to stakeholders like the PHA, and considered all the evidence in weighing up their vote.
CPSU ACT regional secretary Vince McDevitt said a meeting would now take place next week to consider the result, and that the government had the ability to bring on another ballot in six months.
But he said he hoped the government understood the ballot showed an overwhelming consensus.
"We participated in this thing in good faith, and at the end of the day the sentiment of officers was they didn't think it was a good idea, they didn't support it," he said.
"I think the 97 per cent rejection of the proposal speaks volumes and the government will need to think through whether they choose to further pursue the initiative."
He said the PHA's threat of legal action was "curious".
"I'm curious given that all stakeholders to date have indicated that without the support of correctional officers on the ground, no needle syringe program could succeed," he said.
"So the notion that any party would seek to unilaterally impose a regime, a needle syringe regime, on a workforce is indeed curious."
Mr Rattenbury said the result was bitterly disappointing, but that he would continue to push for a needle exchange at the jail, should he be re-elected in October.
Mr Rattenbury said that, despite the vehement opposition of guards, he had remained optimistic and felt real progress was being made in addressing the concerns of guards.
He said that optimism now felt misplaced. "I don't think this is an acceptable outcome to simply say we're not going to take any steps here to address this public health issue," Mr Rattenbury said.
"It's deeply concerning to me that detainees continue to contract blood-borne viruses, we know that there are viable models to prevent it. They work in other jails around the world, it's proven that you can make it work."
