Council approves monument in Richmond paying tribute to people who died of drug overdose

PLANS for a memorial to honour drug overdose victims in one of Melbourne’s notorious drug hotspots appears doomed after public uproar. Critics branded it as a “monumentally stupid” idea.

Drug use, and drug sales, are rife in the Victoria St area of Richmond. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

A CONTROVERSIAL tribute to hundreds of people who have died from drug overdoses could be doomed even though an inner city council has approved the project.

Yarra City Council is planning to install a memorial to acknowledge the lives of those who overdosed in the drug hotspot around Victoria St, North Richmond.

But Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly, who opposed the idea, said residents did not want it and that the Greens-dominated council would have to back down.

“This is just a thought bubble from the Greens,’’ Cr Jolly said.

“Which restaurant or home owner is going to want to have a plaque like this on their wall?

“And anyway, you don’t put up a memorial until a war is over. And this war is still going on.’’

Also, it is believed that Yarra council does not even have all the names of the victims. In 2016, there were 34 heroin-related deaths in the area.

The plan, now out for public submissions, has sparked uproar with some saying the money could be better used elsewhere.

Anti-crime campaigners and locals claim the tribute could glorify the drug problem in the Victoria St precinct.

RALLY TO PUSH FOR SAFE INJECTING ROOM IN NORTH RICHMOND

Commissioner for Victims of Crime Greg Davies has slammed the move.

PREMIER DEFIANT ON SAFE HEROIN INJECTION ROOMS

EVIL DRUG NOW CHEAPER THAN A SIX-PACK

Victims of Crime Commissioner Greg Davies slammed the monument as a “monumentally stupid” idea.

A council vote on July 4 for the plan ended in a tie, 4-4.

Yarra Mayor Amanda Stone, a Greens member, used her tiebreaking power to vote in favour of the tribute.

The plan is now out for public consultation until August 11.

Cr Stone compared the memorial to the roadside tributes to victims of the road toll.

The State Government gave the council a $400,000 grant to improve the Victoria-Lennox St intersection, but the memorial idea was an extra proposed by Greens councillor Mike McEvoy, and would come from council funds.

Cr Jolly said the memorial would not solve the drug problem.

“We need to be uniting people in the area to fight this drug problem, not putting up a sign that says ‘hey, it’s not nice to be around here’,” he said.

“The best way to pay tribute to those who have died from drug overdoses is to actually fix the drug problem.”

Local business owners were also against the proposed move.