Nurses have joined prison staff and prisoners in opposing the Government’s plans for a needle exchange at the ACT prison.

The Australian Nursing Federation union representative Jenny Miragaya has publicly ruled out supporting the needle exchange in its submission to the Government, saying the federation was unable to support any of the recommendations.

Opposition corrections spokesman Jeremy Hanson urged Chief Minister Katy Gallagher to listen to the front-line staff at the prison and shelve the plans immediately.

“The Canberra Liberals fully support the nurses who would be at the frontline of administering this program. They rightly raise personal safety risks among a range of issues associated with a possible needle exchange,” he said.

“Not only would a needle exchange pose serious safety concerns, it could also lead to increased drug use at the prison. Katy Gallagher’s driving the needle exchange at the expense of effective rehabilitation programs and drug reduction.”