Vic: Police dispute resolved as new year count down begins

AAP General News (Australia)
12-31-2007
Vic: Police dispute resolved as new year count down begins

By Catherine Best

MELBOURNE, Dec 31 AAP - A dispute which threatened to leave tens of thousands of Victorian
New Year's Eve revellers without full police protection has been resolved.

The Police Association had planned a boycott of patrols in the popular Mornington Peninsula
town of Rye tonight unless Victoria Police command provided riot helmets to protect officers
in the event of a repeat of violent outbreaks.

Three police were injured last New Year's Eve in Rye, about 95 km south of Melbourne
on the peninsula, when about 100 rioters pelted police with bottles and chairs.

The planned boycott - outlined in an 11th hour prohibition notice - was overruled early
this afternoon by WorkSafe Victoria.

The union is dissatisfied and has not ruled out legal action in the event of a repeat
of last year's violence around Rye, which it considers dangerous.

"We're hoping that nobody gets injured this evening, let's wait and see what happens,"

Police Association assistant secretary Bruce McKenzie said.

In a force concession, about 160 police patrolling the peninsula will be issued with
protective shields, but the union says that's not good enough.

"The Police Association acknowledges that policing can be a risky and dangerous profession
but those risks and dangers can be and ought to be reduced as much as possible.

"Workers are entitled to come home in the same condition they went to work, the same
should definitely apply to our members."

WorkSafe has committed to a review of police equipment as part of its ruling today.

Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Evans said police command would work with the union
to head off a similar stand-off next year and that issuing helmets was a possibility in
future.

"Nothing's off the drawing board."

But Mr Evans said current conditions were safe.

"Right across Victoria there is New Year's Eve (celebrations), from time to time you
get some drunken youths ... police are trained in that and police take the appropriate
action - this is not G20."

Thousands of people are expected to descend on the state's beaches tonight as scorching
40 degree temperatures draw huge crowds.

The heat has heightened fears of alcohol-fuelled violence.

In Melbourne up to 500,000 people are expected to flock to the city to watch a midnight
fireworks spectacular.

Big crowds are also expected at Phillip Island and on the Surf Coast.

Mr Evans warned revellers to "take it safe".

"If you plan to drink too much have somebody around ... so that they can look after
you," he said.

"The last thing you want is to end up in the police cells or end up in court, it's
just not worth it."

AAP cmb/mh/nf/cjh/mn

KEYWORD: EVE VIC NIGHTLEAD

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