‘It doesn’t even make sense’: Rave organisers criticised for not shutting down event

A Melbourne mother whose son died of a drug overdose at a music festival has hit out at organisers of a Flemington rave where four people were left fighting for life after overdosing.

A Melbourne mother whose son died after ingesting illicit drugs at a music festival says the hardcore Flemington Racecourse rave should have been shut down when revellers started overdosing on MDMA.

Adriana Buccianti’s son Daniel lost his life after he overdosed on a mixture of substances at Rainbow Serpent Festival in January 2012.

Ms Buccianti told the Herald Sun that Hardmission Festival should have been abandoned when the overdoses crisis – during which eight people had to be placed in induced comas and a ninth also needed hospital treatment – was unfolding on Saturday night.

“They absolutely should have shut it down,” she said.

Adriana Buccianti’s son Daniel died in 2012 after a drug overdose. Picture: Josie Hayden

“We are talking about a festival here that only goes for seven hours and within four hours we’ve had nine overdoses – that is just astounding.

“It doesn’t even make sense, here’s these people fighting for their lives because of drugs and here’s other people still partying.

“They should have shut it down, or at least the music should have been cut off.”

On Tuesday night, three men in their 20s and a woman aged between 18 and 25 were fighting for life, according to the Health Department.

Daniel Buccinati overdosed on a mixture of substances at Rainbow Serpent Festival.

Premier Jacinta, who was asked twice whether organisers should have ­notified other attendees about the overdoses as the rave rolled into the night, said first responders needed to confirm revellers had indeed overdosed before they raised the alarm.

“It needs to be verified what they consume,” she said.

“The focus of first responders is on treating people who are critically ill, and it’s really important that factual information is provided to people, and that is why it takes time to test the substances, to talk to the people who have been impacted and affected.”

There has been mounting criticism over a failure to alert the crowd and notify the public of the overdose crisis at Hardmission Festival on Saturday. Picture: TikTok

This is despite Victorian Ambulance Union general secretary Danny Hill confirming that paramedics at the scene had said the partygoers overdosed on ecstasy.

“It certainly fits the pattern of MDMA with the symptoms and being a rave,” he said.

Ambulance Victoria confirmed only that there had been overdoses at the event 36 hours after the crisis.

Ms Buccianti said health officials and emergency bosses needed to be transparent.

“The public have the right to know,” she said. “There should have been communication between Ambulance Victoria and (harm reduction service) DanceWize volunteers should have been warned.”

A recent research paper revealed there were 64 overdose deaths at music festivals across the nation from July 1, 2000 to December 31, 2019.

The Monash University study found the most common drug used by victims was MDMA, at 65 per cent.

Another survey of 2305 participants at 23 festivals in Victoria reported that almost half had recently used drugs and 24 per cent intended to take them at the next festival.