The State Police Minister has refused to confirm if additional police from outside East Gippsland will be provided to peak holiday locations like Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota this holiday season.

State Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, asked the Minister in Parliament if there would be more resource support, given local concerns about the massive recent crime rate increases and significant population increases again expected over the upcoming holiday period. 

“The specific reason I asked about police being provided from ‘outside the region’ is because there’s been talk that additional police will be supplied to these locations from Bairnsdale.

“However, Bairnsdale police also have large holiday crowds to deal with at locations like Paynesville and Eagle Point. There is a strong argument they also ought to have additional resources.

“When you have Lakes Entrance growing from 6,500 people to 60,000 and Mallacoota from 1,000 to 5,000, regular police rosters can’t cope. Help must come from outside East Gippsland.

“Unfortunately the Minister’s response said ‘how and where resources are deployed is a matter for the Chief Commissioner’.

“She went on to say Victoria Police considers the population in tourist areas when planning police staffing and that current planning for the 2016/17 holiday season is currently underway.

“However, it’s not good enough that here we are in early December resourcing is still being planned. This should have been sorted out months ago given the well-publicised issues of the Lakes Entrance station being closed daily over the Christmas holiday period last year.

“One of the reasons this occurred is because last year there were no additional police from outside the region. In times past additional officers were redeployed from other areas of the state and it should happen again.

“Last year was simply not good enough; our local officers need more support.

“What gives me little confidence is that after it took the Premier two years to visit East Gippsland, his fly-in fly-out visit to Mallacoota provided the perfect chance to announce additional holiday resourcing, but he said nothing,” Mr Bull said.

Monday, December 5, 2016