Questions and crackdown after rowdy festivities
Police called in as backpackers blamed for boozy beach parties
Questions are being asked about the actions of police in Sydney and a 10-day alcohol ban on public spaces has been imposed in Melbourne after rowdy Christmas Day celebrations in Australia’s biggest cities that are being blamed on backpackers.
Police in Sydney who broke up an unauthorised beach party peppersprayed revellers and pushed them to the ground.
Police in Melbourne said about 5000 people descended on the foreshore in an “unplanned event” and the level of public intoxication prompted the closure of two lanes of traffic.
Sydney police were called to Little Bay, south of Maroubra, after reports of the large backpacker gathering and arrived to find a crowd drinking, dancing and singing to music.
As they were moved on, three people were arrested and police said two officers were hit with bottles.
Footage of the aftermath of the party shows officers attempting to disperse the crowd.
One video posted on Facebook shows at least four women being pushed to the ground, including two who landed on the road, as officers douse others with pepper spray.
Stephen Minshaw, who was injured, said police were hitting people with batons as they tried to leave the area.
“I don’t get why the police needed to use force,” he told the Seven Network.
“We’re backpackers, we’re not going to . . . fight back against them.”
He denied the party had become out of hand.
Other social media users responded to the footage by labelling the police response as “unnecessarily violent”, “ridiculous” and going “way too far”.
A police spokeswoman said she wasn’t able to comment on the videos or police tactics.
What really disappoints Victoria Police is the level of intoxication that occurred here. We’ve seen some incidents tonight that are really below the line. Jason Kelly
The council in Melbourne’s Port Phillip imposed the drinking ban from today after the beach party on Christmas Day got out of hand.
“People were taking trolley-loads of alcohol from the local bottle shops and wheeling them on to the beach,” Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss told 3AW.
Council officers were having to pick up the trash, trolleys and pick up broken glass from the sand by hand so people can enjoy the foreshore on a sunny Boxing Day, Voss said.
The council hadn’t thought an alcohol ban on public spaces was necessary for Christmas Day because families like to go down to the foreshore for a glass of champagne or beer, Voss said.
“But we didn’t really expect the extent of the backpackers and the international visitors — there were a lot of British accents,” she said.
“People drink too much and that’s a recipe for disaster.”
A 27-year-old man was hit by a tram, a drunken 27-year-old woman had to be taken to hospital, others were injured from stepping on broken glass, two were arrested for being drunk in a public place and there was a report of an assault, Inspector Jason Kelly said.
Police from across the metropolitan area had to be brought in to control the mob.
“What really disappoints Victoria Police is the level of intoxication that occurred here,” Kelly said. “We’ve seen some incidents tonight that are really below the line.”