Airbnb introduces new rules as Mornington Peninsula locals continue fight against day trippers and part timers

An image showing a poster on the Mornington Peninsula Freeway that reads “If you don’t live here “f’’’ off” could be a fake photo but the region’s “keep out” movement shows no sign of abating as the COVID-19 spread continues.

The photo that has been circulating on social media.

Angry messages telling people to stay away from the Mornington Peninsula are still being posted on social media, despite the region experiencing one of its quietest Easters on record.

The latest photo doing the rounds on Facebook is of a large sign on the Mornington Peninsula freeway near Dromana that reads “If you don’t live here “f’’’ off”.

But it is possible the image is a hoax.

It was posted on the Camping Victoria Facebook page over the weekend and shared across a number of other public pages including the Humans of Melbourne.

The original post attracted 1700 comments including one that suggested the picture had been photo shopped and another which claimed flyers with similar messages had been placed in letter boxes across the southern peninsula.

The sentiment behind the image was supported by many.

“Fabulous. Shows that people are actually taking this new invisible disease seriously. Love the Aussie “direct” manner,” one woman posted on the Humans of Melbourne Facebook page.

Others were less diplomatic.

“It’s extraordinary peeps feel they are above the law … Stay home, not the holiday home ffs! “If anything happened the region hospitals are not equipped to cope,” another wrote.

Mornington Peninsula Shire mayor Sam Hearn said council rangers were alerted to the photo not long after it was posted on Saturday and inspected the site soon after.

“There was no sign of that particular sign,” Cr Hearn said.

“Unless it was put up, photographed, and then taken down immediately, I’d say it was likely never really there.”

Cr Hearn said the peninsula had experienced “It was the quietest Easter I have ever seen here”.

The “keep out” movement kicked off in March and signs telling tourists and part time residents to stick to their own postcodes popped up around the region.

Cr Hearn said anxiety and uncertainty about the coronavirus crisis had increased existing friction between permanent ratepayers and part time residents.

“Certain scenarios like the Aspen cluster haven’t helped,” he said.

Short stay accommodation provider Airbnb was still taking bookings over Easter and beyond but Country Manager for Australia Susan Wheeldon said hosts and guests had been told to avoid non-essential travel and hosts were also warned not to use terms related to COVID-19, such as ‘quarantine’ in property descriptions.

Ms Wheeldon said the site was continuing to offer accommodation to those in “genuine need”.

These included healthcare and relief workers who need to be closer to work, stranded tourists, students and people between permanent residences or unable to commit to long-term leases due to economic uncertainty.

MORE NEWS

FRANKSTON SEX DEN FIRST FINED FOR COVID-19 BREACH

NEW USE FOR PARTY MARQUEES DURING COVID CRISIS

EMERGENCY POWERS FOR POLICE NEED TO BE MONITORED

Victoria Police conducted 3245 spot checks across the state during the Easter long weekend as part of Operation Sentinel.

A total of 427 fines were issued.

Examples of breaches included four people gathering together outside shops in Baxter after visiting friends, four people having a barbecue at a Brighton Beach bathing box and a group of overseas tourists holding a party at a rented short stay property in Cowes.

Since March 21, Victoria Police have conducted a total of 20,933 spot checks as part of Operation Sentinel.