20/08/2026
YOUR SAY: FEARING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ON THE STREETS OF MORWELL
Having lived and worked in Australia for the past 28 years, Malaysian born Morwell resident Jothi Jiwa believes that the drug problem is the most compelling issue in her community.
‘It was once so good to live here, when I first came down to Morwell it was so quiet, it just blew my mind’, she said.
‘Before, you could walk around, and you felt so free. You could just leave the car and the house door open. Now you can’t do that.’
Around eight years after moving to Morwell, Jothi noticed the town slowly changing, as a visible drug culture became progressively worse.
In 2026 she describes scenes of people cursing and fighting, especially around the train stations and bus stops where a lot of people commute.
Groups of teenagers and drug and alcohol users hurl abuse at innocent commuters, there is a lot of screaming and people running around with weapon like objects.
‘The older people are especially scared to walk around by themselves. I dare not walk by myself anywhere, especially where there are no lights. After 6pm people are too scared to come out,as people are flighting’, she said.
She said that some terrified commuters at the bus terminal were now taking a ‘safety in numbers’ approach, banding together for protection when getting off the bus.
The abuse follows Jothi home where her neighbour frequently racially abuses her with, swearing and saying things like ‘you Indian, go back to your country.’
She said that it is not a good feeling, particularly for the migrant doctors and nurses that have come to Latrobe Valley to work in the healthcare system, to be harassed on the basis of their skin colour.
‘We need more services, we need more housing, I see people are just living on the street. After the pandemic, I’ve seen a lot of homeless people, there is not enough low income housing. It has changed so much in the last five years’, she said.
‘I see lots of needles on the street, which is not good for the kids running around. Sometimes I don’t see people wearing shoes- it’s dangerous, so if that could be controlled that would be really good.’
Apart from now fearing for her safety, Jothi still believes that Australia will always be a lucky country.
‘It’s a beautiful country, and I will not live anywhere else but this place. But the drug situation is very, very bad here, and I really hope it will improve.’
