Tuesday, 7.30am: A south-west politician has called for clarity over COVID-19 regulations and for international and domestic visitors to stay away.
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Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell said there needed to be clear policies around enforcement of the directives.
"I think the last thing I and the people of South West Coast want at the moment is international tourists travelling across the state and the region," she said.
"The message from me is very clear - stay away, we don't want visitors at the moment. That's a tough thing to say as an MP for a region where tourism is one of the key industries - but the time will come soon when we will welcome our visitors back with open arms, but right now we need people to stay at home."
Ms Britnell said people were generally doing their best to do the right thing.
"It's incredibly frustrating when you see people flouting the rules," she said.
"What's even more frustrating is the lack of clear policy for our police to enforce - the inconsistencies around when to issue fines must be incredibly frustrating for them.
"There are some directives that are very clear - like not gathering with more than one other person you don't live with, but there is some grey area in the interpretation of other directives.
"I understand there has to be some flexibility, but there also needs to be a consistent, overarching approach to enforcement."
The south-west MP said there were a lot of inconsistencies.
"None more so than before the long weekend where the Police Minister Lisa Neville said you should stay at home and not visit your holiday homes, but then said there is actually nothing legally stopping people from travelling to a holiday home," she said.
"It's that inconsistency and the loopholes which are frustrating people.
"Victorians have done an incredible job on the whole to reduce the number of infections, but that willingness to continue to do the right thing could be under threat if the inconsistencies continue."
Monday: International tourists and surfers are causing angst among south-west residents about the potential spread of COVID-19.
Chinese national siblings were intercepted by police at the weekend.
They had been in New South Wales, travelled to Victoria, down the Great Ocean Road and were heading back to Melbourne when pulled over by police.
They have been in Australia since mid-February.
A group of about 10 international tourists were also spoken to by officers at a Portland caravan park. however police were informed by authorities not to issue fines.
Police sources said the inconsistent approach put officers in an unenviable position.
"These people could be super spreaders and we are being instructed to allow them to wander around the country," one officer said.
"Surely they should be being instructed to stay in metropolitan areas, like Melbourne and Sydney, or be sent home and not come out to the country where we do not have the virus.
"We are all trying to do the right thing and yet we are seeing some major inconsistencies."
About 30 surfers from Melbourne also travelled to Torquay at the weekend.
They were not issued with $1652 fines, prompting locals to raise concerns.
When questioned, Victoria Police media liaison staff said: "We are unable to go into any further details around specific incidents, and we will not be providing any other localised breakdowns of data about checks or fines."
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