'Deeply troubling': Rainbow Serpent told to clean up act or face ban

This year’s festival has seen seven hospitalisations, with two young people fighting for their lives, along with more than 20 serious drug arrests.

The mayor of the Pyrenees Council, in which the festival is held, says there will be "serious consideration" of the festival's future if drug issues at the event become "out of control".

Mayor Robert Vance says the number of drug-related health issues was deeply troubling.

The council says it has the power under local planning laws to banish the festival if it wishes to.

Cr Vance says his council had a good relationship with Rainbow Serpent organisers, but the council was moving towards taking action against the festival after a slew of overdoses and arrests this year.

"If there is a death, then it's very serious … it could be an ultimatum," said Cr Vance.

"[The death of a patron] would be the first thing that would cause it [a ban] to happen".

It's understood a review of the festival will take place in the near future between authorities including Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, fire authorities, the Pyrenees council, festival organisers and health groups employed by the organisers.

A potential outcome of the review is a hardening of Victoria Police’s stance on the festival, with a possibility for senior police to publicly call for an end to it or privately apply pressure on local authorities to ban the event.

The Rainbow Serpent Festival was marred by controversy after last year's event, with two reported sexual assaults, five arrests for drug possession and 44 people testing positive to drug driving.

After that event, 12 months ago, police acting Superintendent Graham Banks said it was concerning to see so many people making dangerous choices at the festival, despite repeated warnings from police.

"Every year police deal with serious crimes such as sexual assaults and drug trafficking at this event," he said.

Nonetheless, shortly after last year's festival, Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Holman said no drug overdoses had been reported there.

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Cr Vance on Monday said making a call on the event's future was difficult for local councillors because thousands of attendees provided a significant economic injection to the local economy.

The mayor said police were doing a "great job" patrolling the festival. He also acknowledged the good intentions of festival organisers to create a safe event.

A Victorian government spokeswoman said the government would not get in the way of the local council barring the event.

Seven festival-goers at this year's event have been taken to hospital due to drug overdoses and almost 25 people have been arrested for drug related offences since the festival begun on Friday, with a similar amount handed drug diversion notices.

The overdoses come as the peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, issued a statement in support of pill testing.

The college joins the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian Medical Association in backing calls to introduce pill testing at festivals.

A spokesman for the Victorian government has said it had no plans to allow pill-testing at events in Victoria.

"Advice from Victoria Police tells us it can give people a false, and potentially fatal, sense of security about illicit drugs," the spokesman said.

Festival organisers were not available for contact.

- The Age

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