Victoria’s Drug Epidemic Won’t Get Better While Cops Negotiate for Higher Pay: Minister

Victoria’s Shadow Minister for Police, Brad Battin, believes the state’s drug epidemic will not get any better while its policing pay dispute continues to drag on. The number of overdose deaths is a critical issue, almost double the state’s road toll in 2023, with over 1,000 people dying over the past two years, according to a report released by the Coroners Court last month. Last year, 547 Victorians lost their lives to drug overdoses, just three less deaths than in 2022. “People dying from drug overdoses is a horrific thing, and if we intervene and get in earlier, you’ll have better outcomes,” Battin told The Epoch Times....