Premier defends Erin Patterson’s taxpayer-funded weight loss jabs

September 8, 2026 — 4:24pmPremier Ben Carroll has defended state-funded weight loss injections for convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson, as she waits to hear whether she will be granted a retrial.Asked on Tuesday if he was comfortable with Patterson receiving the medication while serving three life sentences, the premier said the decision to prescribe the 51-year-old Ozempic was based on medical advice, and that healthcare was a matter for individual prisoners and medical experts.Premier Ben Carroll.Eddie JimWeight-loss medications became available for prisoners in Victoria following an inquest into the death of Indigenous prisoner Michael Suckling, who died from an enlarged heart in March 2021 after gaining 117 kilograms while in custody.Patterson, who is appealing her convictions, was recently prescribed the injections, according to the Herald Sun, while serving her minimum sentence of 33 years at the maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne’s west, where she could be held in solitary confinement for years to come due to the notoriety of her case.“What I know taxpayers want to know is that when there’s a coronial investigation into a death in prison, that a government takes it seriously, and when it comes to medical advice, I will let the experts provide that,” Carroll said on Tuesday.Ozempic is listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme for people with type-2 diabetes and costs about $25 a month under the scheme.Erin Patterson photographed in April 2025 ahead of her trial.AAPOpposition police spokesman Brad Battin said the reasons behind prescribing Patterson the weight-loss drug should be made public, stating some prisoners were receiving the medication for cosmetic reasons.“Every person who’s inside the prison system, they also get an hour outside their cell every day. It’s up to them what they do,” Battin said.“If Erin Patterson chooses not to do exercise, then we shouldn’t be subsidising a cost for medication to keep her weight down.”A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson said access to weight-loss drugs was permitted only when there was a clear medical need, such as for the prevention of type-2 diabetes.“Access to prescribed weight loss medication was introduced in response to recommendations from the coroner following a death in custody linked to obesity,” a statement read.Patterson pleaded not guilty to murdering her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, and attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, by serving them a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms at her home in July 2023.During the trial, the mother of two told a jury she had struggled with body image and eating issues throughout her life.She recalled binge-eating nearly an entire cake, telling the court that before making herself vomit, “I had a piece of cake. And then another. And another.”Patterson also said she had been planning to undergo weight loss surgery after the lunch, and had made up a fake cancer diagnosis that would explain to her family any trips to hospital she might need to take for the secret surgery.“I was planning to have a gastric bypass surgery and I remembered thinking I didn’t want to tell anybody what I was going to have done. I was really embarrassed about it,” Patterson said.During a pre-sentencing hearing, a court heard she had a two-metre by 1.5-metre concrete yard adjoining her cell and was allowed one hour of outside time a day.Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.From our partners