Rita Panahi: Why are bureaucrats spared from Richmond drug injecting rooms, but nearby kids are not?

Jacinta Allan must explain why she believes bureaucrats should be spared the dangers posed by clients of the Richmond drug injecting facility but not children at a primary school next door.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission is ditching its Richmond office for one in the CBD after a series of physical and verbal attacks by users of the taxpayer funded drug facility. Picture: Supplied

Jacinta Allan must explain to Victorians why she believes bureaucrats should be spared the dangers posed by aggressive drug-addled clients of the Richmond drug injecting facility but not small, vulnerable children at a primary school next door.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission is ditching its Richmond office for one in the CBD after a series of physical and verbal attacks by users of the taxpayer funded drug facility.

VGCCC chief executive Annette Kimmitt has explained that staff feel unsafe walking alone even in daylight hours with many not going out during their breaks.

“Those that do venture out travel in groups and report a higher level of anxiety and fear in anticipation of what they may confront outside our office doors,” she said.

One does not begrudge workers for wanting to shift their office to somewhere where they’re less likely to be accosted or assaulted by aggro junkies. Every worker deserves to feel safe.

But sadly the children at Richmond West Primary School do not have that luxury. Over the years they have witnessed horrific violence, overdoses and even had a dead body just metres from their school’s front gates. Late last year footage emerged of a schoolgirl being assaulted in an unprovoked attack by a woman outside the injecting rooms. Is the state government waiting for a serious injury to a child before they move their pet project somewhere more suitable.

Originally published as Rita Panahi: Why are bureaucrats spared from Richmond drug injecting rooms, but nearby kids are not?