Police withdraw fines given to Airbnb partygoers for breaking virus restrictions

Police have sensationally withdrawn 15 fines given to Airbnb partygoers in Melbourne after they were “incorrectly issued”.

Police have withdrawn more than a dozen coronavirus fines handed out to Airbnb partygoers and admitted they were incorrectly issued.

The $1652 infringements had been given to 15 people caught celebrating at the short term rental in Southbank on Saturday night for breaching the chief health officer's directions.

But following a review, it was identified the fines were incorrectly issued, police said in a statement.

“The current chief health officer restrictions allow for 20 people to gather for an overnight stay at tourist accommodation, which includes private holiday rentals,” police said.

“A short term rental apartment is not a private residence so it is therefore identified as a private holiday rental.”

Those restrictions, however, will change again for metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire when stage three restrictions come into force at 11.59pm on Wednesday.

Police said they were currently in the process of withdrawing the fines and would notify the relevant individuals in due course.

It comes after Chief Commissioner Shane Patton labelled the actions of some Victorians “stupid, selfish and reckless”.

He said “15 people thought it was OK to get together and party” in an Airbnb in Southbank.

“Some people are still not listening and if the only way we can get through to them to adhere to the directions is through us giving out significant fines, that’s what we’ll do,” Mr Patton said.

Since the start of the coronavirus enforcement operation police have issued a whopping 6314 fines in Victoria, a total of at least $10.4 million in infringements.

In the past 24 hours they’ve conducted 810 spot checks at homes, businesses and non-essential services across the state.

It comes as police confirmed they would enforce Melbourne’s citywide coronavirus lockdown with checkpoints on the “hard border” between metropolitan and regional areas.

Police Minister Lisa Neville announced on Wednesday morning that Victorians should be “in no doubt” that officers would be enforcing the restrictions imposed by the chief health officer.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton and Police Minister Lisa Neville address the media about the enforcement activities in response to the stage-three restrictions. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

She said police would be checking people at home, businesses and mass gatherings.

“For those who want to blatantly and obviously and deliberately breach these directives of the chief health officer, police will be there,” Ms Neville said.

“Whether you’re breaking your quarantine at home, whether you’re having parties, whether you’re having people over to your place or whether it’s about you trying to, for no good reason, go to regional Victoria, police will be there.”

Ms Neville said police had completed more than 92,000 spot checks since the pandemic started, with calls to the Police Assistance Line spiking to 810 on Tuesday, up from about 70 a day in May.

Mr Patton said several hundreds more police would be involved in enforcing the restrictions.

“It won’t be an absolute ring of steel, but there will be a significant police presence … on those main arterial roads you’d expect to see on the Hume Freeway, heading out to the Calder, going down to Geelong, heading to Gippsland,” Mr Patton said.

“We’re going to be there from midnight tonight. We’re going to be checking people. We’re going to be making sure they’re adhering to those guidelines.

“If you don’t have a reason to leave, you will be turned back around. If someone breaches those guidelines and leaves when they shouldn’t, you’ll receive an infringement of $1652.

“We’ll have massive booze bus-type operations. We’ll have automatic number plate recognition.”

Mr Patton said Victorians may see Australian Defence Force personnel at checkpoints providing logistic support.

“We’ll use them at some of our police command posts for transport and a range of other roles. They will be invaluable assistance for us but they cannot replace police in terms of the policing responsibilities we have and where we need powers to do that.”

Mr Patton said police were setting up rolling checkpoints.

“We’re going to have moving checkpoints. They’ll be at different locations around the state, different towns. There may be periods of time we’re, in smaller areas or we may be in larger areas,” he said.

“We’ve got lots of resources and with the ADF to support as well, we’re confident people will adhere to guidelines.”

He said the discretion window was “very much nearly closed”.

“The chances of actually being detected are going to be very significant,” Mr Patton said.

“We expect to see a lot less traffic out and about because of these restrictions. People can only go out when they have one of those four legitimate reasons and so the probability of being intercepted, questioned, asked where you’re going and why is very, very high.

“I wouldn’t want to be betting against it if I was out there doing the wrong thing. I hope it’s not the case but I expect to see fines increase because people need to be aware there are consequences for noncompliance.”

Police perform random checks on drivers and passengers at Camp Rd, Broadmeadows, last week. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Premier Daniel Andrews announced the six-week citywide lockdown would take effect at 11.59pm on Wednesday night in a desperate bid to stop skyrocketing coronavirus infections.

Melburnians will only be allowed to leave their homes for four reasons — grocery shopping, care-giving, daily exercise, and school or work — Mr Andrews announced Tuesday afternoon.

Every Melbourne local government area will be subject to the restrictions, as well as Mitchell Shire in the city’s outer north.

Mr Andrews announced 134 new confirmed cases on Wednesday morning, with 860 active cases. More than 450 cases may be linked to community transmission.

“We do have to have a hard border between those 31 metropolitan LGAs and Mitchell Shire, and regional Victoria,” he said.

“No one is pleased to be in that predicament, to having to confront those circumstances, but there is enormous benefit across regional Victoria if we can get that job done.”

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