Negotiations on Australia's first legal pill-testing trial are expected to go down to the wire, with backers still in the dark about whether the promoter of Groovin the Moo will allow the Canberra pilot to go ahead just a week out from the festival.
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The ACT government, STA-Safe and the University of Canberra all confirmed on Friday they were yet to receive confirmation from Cattleyard Promotions about whether they will let the consortium test illicit drugs at the festival next Sunday, fuelling fears the trial could be shelved at the last minute, like with Spilt Milk.
However the Barr government says it remains in talks with the promoter, with a final decision expected late next week.
ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said she remained "cautiously optimistic" the trial could go ahead, and that she would stay at the negotiating table until the very last minute.
"Certainly we remain in close conversations with Cattleyard, all the parties are coming together to talk about the proposal to conduct pill testing at the music festival next weekend as well," Ms Fitzharris said.
"Those conversations remain productive and they are continuing as we speak and I expect will continue into early next week as well and we will know certainly by late next week whether this Australian-first pill testing trial will go ahead here in Canberra."
The territory government first gave permission to STA-Safe to legally test drugs at the Spilt Milk festival at Canberra's Commonwealth Park in November last year, after a working group of health professionals, harm-minimisation bodies and police spent six months looking into the legal and public health impacts of the proposal.
However the trial was canned six weeks out from the event after the promoter, Kicks Entertainment, said STA-Safe didn't file the right paperwork for the event to take place on Commonwealth land.
The consortium didn't expect to encounter the same hurdle this time, as Groovin the Moo is held at the University of Canberra - land managed by the ACT government.
STA-Safe had a major win when the university gave the thumbs up to the trial going ahead last month.
However it soon emerged the ACT government and the promoters were in a stalemate over a number of conditions that Cattleyard said were contingent on the trial going ahead.
However Dr David Caldicott from the consortium said they had offered a legal waiver to Cattleyard on any issue related to pill-testing.
He said the promoter wanted blanket indemnity, something that could not be done.
Cattleyard also wanted assurances that punters who went to the health tent would not be targeted by police.
However Ms Fitzharris told Triple J's Hack program police would not enter the tent unless there was a public safety issue and people could go in there for a range of reasons, say if they wanted a bottle of water or "stubbed their toe".
Cattleyard Promotions did not respond to requests for comment.
