More police in tourist areas during peak holiday periods, including Lakes Entrance, will be delivered under a Liberal Nationals Government.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, said the current guidelines that additional police had to be sourced from inside their own police region, was a ridiculous one for East Gippsland.
“What that means is that additional police for Lakes Entrance basically have to come from Bairnsdale, the problem being that station is also servicing increased tourist numbers, particularly in locations like Paynesville and Eagle Point.
It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Mr Bull said.
“It is an issue I have raised in Parliament many times and also met with Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton about earlier this year.
“The Liberal Nationals will work with the Chief Commissioner to cater for the influx of visitors.
“In a location like Lakes Entrance where the population explodes from around 5-6000 to over 25,000, there is a need for additional police more than the full holiday period.
“What we have seen in the past few years is extra police on New Year’s Eve, but they leave on January 2 when the crowds start arriving.
“I have always said our police do an amazing job, this is simply about putting more resources in places where the populations explode over summer to provide more appropriate levels of support.”
Mr Bull said that while it was likely too late to re-allocate police for this summer, he was hopeful the policy would be implemented for Easter 2019, pending election success this weekend.
