‘No waves’: Victorian’s ludicrous excuse for 140km trip

There have been some pretty bad excuses given to police by virus rule-breaking Aussies, but one man’s reason for travelling 140km is just ridiculous.

There have been some pretty bad excuses given to police by virus rule-breaking Aussies, but one man’s reason for travelling 140km over the weekend is just ridiculous.

So far we have had a bloke heading out at 2.30 in the morning to feed his brother's horse and a man who wasn’t wearing a mask because he had a “bad pimple” on his chin, but a surfer from Torquay has set the new bar pretty high yesterday.

Police say he travelled more than 140km from his home to Castle Cove because there were “no waves on the east side”.

He was one of 243 fined for breaching the chief health officer’s directions over the last 24 hours under the state’s tough stage four coronavirus lockdown.

Other examples provided today include four people “observed driving in Wyndham during curfew hours” who “stated they were going to buy cigarettes”.

Police handed out 243 fines in the last 24 hours. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Two men who travelled from Bayswater to Bonnie Doon “to collect clothes” were also fined.

Police were even forced to open fire through a car window after the driver breached COVID-19 curfew restrictions in Melbourne and then allegedly drove his vehicle towards officers.

Victoria Police’s Public Order Response Team was patrolling a street in southwestern Melbourne around 1.20am on Saturday when they saw a man pull his vehicle into a service station on the Princess Highway at Altona Meadows.

Officers approached the man and ordered him to turn off his vehicle.

Instead he ignored the command and allegedly drove his car towards them, forcing one officer to discharge his firearm through the vehicle window.

Police pursued the car for a short time in nearby residential streets before the driver turned into side street and was arrested.

Police have been forced to shoot through a 64YO driver’s window after he drove at them at an Altona Meadows servo. It was 1.20am & officers asked him to stop so they could question why he was out after curfew. He’s now in hospital (medical cond) under guard @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/CwOR9Oz2o9

— Lana Murphy (@LanaMurphy) August 15, 2020

He was charged on Sunday evening with six offences, including reckless conduct endangering life and driving in a dangerous manner. He was also found to be in breach of the Chief Health Officer’s directions.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on Sunday he believed the state's policing measures were working.

“As a public health position, I would say we need to put awareness raising and communication engagement at the heart of our approach, and I think it has worked,” he said.

“But there will always be a need for compliance and enforcement for people who are wilfully flouting those rules. I don’t think the police intend to shame anyone in bringing to bear and illustrating those instances of non-compliance.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the state’s approach to policing was working. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

“I think they are a shot across the bow if you like, for anyone who is also thinking of being wilfully ignorant of those rules. Because people continue to do that, and so I think it does need to be called out when those instances of non-compliance do occur. I think it’s overwhelmingly the case that people are doing the right thing.”

Of the 243 Victorians fines handed out on Saturday, 28 were for failing to wear a face covering and 84 were for curfew breaches. There were 30 fines issued at vehicle checkpoints, with 12,714 vehicles checked over the 24-hour period.

On Saturday, a coronavirus conspiracy theorist who believed the police were tracking him has been fined after he was found on opposite side of Melbourne to his home.

A blitz on COVID-19 testing has begun during stage three COVID lockdown in regional areas of Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

The man from Truganina in the city’s west, was found over in Box Hill in the city’s east.

When officers spoke to him, he told them he believed COVID-19 to be a conspiracy and that he was targeted by police.

On Friday, police also found a man who took at 33 minute train journey from Morwell to Drouin so he could go for a walk.

They found a man in Wyndham who was on his way to buy fast food. Police say he was also watching Netflix on his phone while driving.

On Saturday, police conducted 4490 spot checks on people at homes, businesses and public places across the state yesterday, bringing the total to 283,609 spot checks since March 21.

Victoria has recorded 279 new cases and 16 deaths in the past 24 hours.