Victoria Weather: Townships reeling a week after wild storms rip through properties smh.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from smh.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Almost 40,000 homes remain without power and emergency services say they still don’t know the full scale of destruction from Wednesday’s wild weather after phone and internet outages left people unable to call for help.
Whittlesea’s police ranks will be bolstered, with three new officers allocated to the area.
The new officers are part of an allocation of 2700 new police, funded by the state government in 2018.
The Diamond Creek division. which includes the Whittlesea, Darebin and Banyule police service areas, will be allocated three highway patrol officers and one crime scene services officer, to be shared across the division.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the final allocation of officers currently in training at the police academy marks a major milestone in the history of Victoria police.
“Since 2018, our additional police have been deployed to the areas of greatest need using the staff allocation model, allowing us to put more police out on patrol, responding where and when needed in the community, and in dedicated areas such as family violence, transit safety, highway patrol, and sexual offences and child abuse teams,” he said.
Michaela Meade
UPDATE: Hume council says it was not consulted about the construction of a 500-bed quarantine hub in Mickleham.
Mayor Joseph Haweil said: “Hume City Council has requested an urgent meeting with the Victorian Government about its proposal to establish a COVID quarantine facility in Mickleham.
“Council has not been consulted on the proposal prior to today’s announcement and seeks clarification about the ongoing management of the facility to ensure the health and safety of local residents.
“Our community is keen to know what impact a centre of this size and type will have to their health and safety and the amenity of the area.”