Alcohol-induced violence at a park near Derrimut Hotel in Sunshine has forced management to stop staffing its bottle shop with female attendants for safety reasons, State Parliament has heard.
Western Metropolitan MP Bernie Finn said he had been told that frequent antisocial behaviour in a nearby park was having an affect on the hotel.
“People gather and consume large amounts of alcohol and then proceed to do very antisocial things and attack the hotel,” he said.
“In fact, drunks have been laying siege to the hotel. The hotel management has had to make a decision to put no women in the bottle shop because it’s just not safe for them.”
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Hotel management declined to comment when contacted about Mr Finn’s statement.
Star Weekly revealed earlier this month that public drinking was found to be a key concern of residents during consultation on the council’s Brimbank Community Safety Strategy.
Speaking in Parliament on November 12 Mr Finn said that, on a number of occasions, the hotel had been forced to ‘lockdown’ because of the violence outside, and had been forced to put on extra security.
“Its numbers are down because people are obviously having a great deal of trouble getting in or indeed getting out of the hotel,” he told Parliament.
Mr Finn told Star Weekly last week that boosting resources to Sunshine police would help solve the problem.
“I would guess Sunshine is the busiest police station in Victoria and they are totally under-resourced.
“They need more manpower.”
Mr Finn has called on Police Minister Wade Noonan to give police the resources they need.
Sunshine police’s Acting Inspector Brenda Bagally confirmed that nearby RT Pollard Gardens had been a “hotspot” for crime in Sunshine, and incidents had increased in recent times.
“We are aware of the problems in the area and are currently formulating strategies,” she said. Acting Inspector Bagally said Sunshine police are working with Brimbank council and local traders to try to solve the problems.
A consortium of local licensees, including the Derrimut Hotel, is expected to meet this week to discuss the issues.
By Paul Shapiro
