Police resources
Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (09:50): Mernda police station is supposed to be a 24-hour station offering all-day coverage across the Whittlesea police service area. But when Liberal leader Brad Battin visited the station last weekend, the door was shut in the middle of the day, the lights were off and a big red sign said ‘Closed’. This is a relatively new police station that only opened in 2017, and it has already been closed unexpectedly because the Allan Labor government is incapable of fully staffing our state’s police force. This follows recent unplanned closures at Epping police station due to staff shortages, leaving locals unsure if that station will continue to be open in the future. When I asked the Minister for Police why the government has not started construction of the new Wollert police station, he said, ‘Don’t worry; Wollert is covered by Epping police station.’ But Epping police station has had unplanned closures. Likewise, when I asked about funding for the upgrade of Whittlesea police station and increased service capacity, the minister said, ‘Don’t worry; that area is covered by the 24-hour station in Mernda.’ But now we learn that Mernda police station has also had unplanned closures. The people of Victoria deserve better. There are 1100 vacant police positions unfilled, with hundreds more officers expected to retire this year. Police morale is suffering because the government will not address youth crime and allows repeat offenders out on bail.