Police respond following Noosa’s NYE celebrations

‘The approach from police is that we would get in early and remove people who were intoxicated from the area.’

WITH over 15,000 New Year's Eve revellers converging on Noosa ready to party, you would assume there could be more than a few unruly incidents.

But unlike many partygoers this morning, last night went off without too many headaches.

Acting Superintendent for Sunshine Coast region, Jon Lewis acknowledged the large number of responsible people who enjoyed the New Year celebrations in a safe manner.

"Right across the coast, we are happy with the crowds," he said.

"That's something we have become used to.

"The majority of people are out actually doing the right thing."

He said a change in police rostering meant Noosa enjoyed a stronger police presence right across the evening and into the first morning of 2020.

"We changed our rostering practices slightly, based on the learnings from each year," Supt. Lewis said.

"The approach from police is that we would get in early and remove people who were intoxicated from the area to remove any likelihood of offences flaring up later on.

"We don't get everybody, but that was certainly the approach we took."

There was one incident that left a sour taste on the overall festivities, when a 20-year-old man was airlifted to Brisbane Hospital following an assault in a Noosa Heads car park.

But all-in-all, police will mark 2019's end of year celebrations as a safe and successful one.

"With such large crowds, when you look at the relatively low number of incidents, that's what we are comforted by," Supt. Lewis said.

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