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

Last year, 547 Victorians lost their lives to drug overdoses.

A police car is parked outside the East Melbourne police station in Victoria, Australia, on Oct. 27, 2023. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

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.