‘Disneyland for drug users’: Mayor blasts injecting room chaos after VGCCC abandons office
A Melbourne suburb has turned into a “Disneyland for drug users”, as a major government agency pulls out due to escalating violence.
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Melbourne’s controversial safe injecting room has turned North Richmond into “Disneyland for drug users”, according to the local Mayor who has pleaded for the state government to step in after one of its own agencies announced it was pulling out of the area due to an increase in violence and anti-Semitic incidents.
The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) said the “ongoing safety situation”, including assaults on staff, had “strongly influenced” its decision to relocate to the CBD when its Shelley Street lease runs out in August.
“Feedback from staff (including our most recent People Matter survey) reflects growing fear of personal safety while at work and when travelling to and from the office,” VGCCC chief executive Annette Kimmitt said in a letter obtained by the Herald Sun.
“It is deeply disappointing that anti-Semitic graffiti has become an increasingly prolific feature around our office causing our people, specifically our Jewish staff, great distress. There has been an increased demand for support services including situational awareness training and on-site rapid response counselling support for staff feeling increasingly unsafe.”
The VGCCC employs around 200 people with the large workforce “making a significant contribution to the area’s economic and social wellbeing”, but Ms Kimmitt said security in the area was “an ongoing, indeed escalating, concern”.
“We continue to witness and experience other anti-social and criminal activity, including drug and alcohol-related violence, drug dealing and other intimidating behaviour,” she said.
“Colleagues have witnessed the brazen exchange of cash for drugs, people injecting drugs near the building and subsequently large numbers of dangerously discarded syringes. Anti-Semitic material often takes the form of graffiti, poster and stickers on council assets such as rubbish bins and street poles. It is offensive, and it causes unnecessary distressed to my valued members of staff. Together with other safety concerns in the area, these incidents have created an untenable working experience for our people.”
She added that “many staff feel unsafe walking alone, even in daylight hours and now avoid 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.
“Several violent and distressing incidents have also been experienced by staff including physical assault, verbal abuse and racial epithets.”
She warned that “our relocation will impact the many hardworking small businesses, particularly the food outlets that rely on our foot traffic”.
The VGCCC declined to comment on the letter.
North Richmond’s medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) on Lennox Street was opened by the Andrews government in 2019 and has been blamed for bringing a shocking wave of crime and disorder to the once cherished area.
City of Yarra Mayor Stephen Jolly has blasted the state government for “gaslighting” council and local residents about the problems.
“It’s like Disneyland for drug users,” Cr Jolly told 3AW on Thursday.
“You can get there by train or tram, there’s plenty of people that will sell you the drugs, there’s plenty of nice houses in Abbotsford and North Richmond you can rob to get the money for the drugs, and there’s even a supervised injecting facility that you can shoot up in. It’s just disastrous for the locals. Imagine living next door to the only pub in Melbourne. You’d have every alcoholic parked out the front.”
Cr Jolly said the state government needed to either open more supervised injecting facilities in Melbourne to “take the load off North Richmond”, or it needed to give North Richmond “the support it needs” through better mental health and housing support for addicts.
“They can’t just leave it as it is — it’s a disaster, it’s a ghetto right now,” he said.
“They gaslight the locals. They say there’s nothing to see here. They say look it’s bad there but it’s also bad in Sunshine, it’s also bad in Dandenong, it’s also bad in the city centre. And that’s true but it’s much, much worse in North Richmond. We’ve had stats from police that the crime has gone up by 17 per cent in the last year. Most of the crime is done by outsiders, people who don’t live in the area. They get the train or tram in, they rob, they shoot up and then they terrorise the locals.”
Cr Jolly said the VGCCC followed scores of businesses fleeing the area.
“There used to be 60-odd restaurants in Victoria Street, now there’s around 30,” he said.
“There used to be five butchers, now there’s one. There used to be two fishmongers, now there’s one. It’s a real crisis. The businesses and the residents in the area are demanding help. They’re not getting the support they need. It’s all very well people saying Melbourne’s the best city in the world … but in the middle of Yarra we have a disaster zone.”
The City of Yarra earlier this month committed an additional $500,000 for graffiti removal but Cr Jolly said council was limited in what it could do.
“The state government needs to come off their high horse and sit down with the council and most importantly with the locals, the businesses and residents, and work out a plan,” he said. “We’re going to do what we can do at a local level but it has to be done at a state level.”
A Victorian government spokesman said in a statement that more than $14 million had been invested “to boost security and make North Richmond safer for everyone”.
“This includes capital works, additional security cameras, strengthened coordination with Victoria Police, and expanded outreach services to reduce public injecting, prevent overdoses, and connect people to support sooner,” he said.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in Victoria, and we are leaving no stone unturned to eradicate it here in Victoria — working to stop incidents of anti-Semitism and to ensure that those responsible are found and face the full force of the law.”
Seventy people have been arrested in relation to anti-Semitic attacks under Victoria Police’s Operation Park.
The Allan government last year scrapped plans for a second injecting room after it was unable to find a location in the CBD.
Speaking to reporters in April, Premier Jacinta Allan said drug users and their families did not deserve to be stigmatised for health issues, noting 230 Victorians died from a heroin overdose in 2022.
“People living and struggling with addiction deserve the very best care and the best chance,” she said.
Since its establishment, the North Richmond MSIR has safely managed more than 9000 overdoses and saved at least 63 lives, according to the government.
Originally published as ‘Disneyland for drug users’: Mayor blasts injecting room chaos after VGCCC abandons office
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