Taxpayers have footed a $25 million policing bill for Melbourne’s weekly Gaza protests, with almost 24,000 police shifts logged since late 2023.
Figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office show Victoria Police’s Operation Park, launched in October 2023, has clocked $10.2 million in operational expenses and $14.9 million in police salaries.
“Almost 60 percent of total expenditure relates to police officer salary costs, which are considered business-as-usual costs,” the parliamentary office said.
“These costs would have been incurred regardless of whether a major protest or demonstration occurs.”
The figures were released after a request from Liberal MP David Southwick, who asked for an independent estimate of police resources tied up in Operation Park.
Policing Costs Under Fire
Victoria Police said the estimate did not include indirect expenses such as officer backfilling or broader activities like prejudice crime investigations and community patrols.
The Opposition accused the Allan government of allowing protests to spiral.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said the weekly marches “hijacked” the city and “made Melbourne a less safe and less fun place to visit.”
He vowed the Liberals would introduce a protest registration system to ensure demonstrations “don’t divert police attention from fighting crime.”
Activists Keep Up Pressure
The protests have been held every weekend since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages in a cross-border attack.
Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza has killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians, including more than 20,000 children, according to aid agencies.
A United Nations inquiry this week, led in part by former Australian Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti, concluded Israel had committed genocide—an allegation Israel denies.
Opposition Links Costs to Crime and Tourism
Minister Southwick accused Premier Jacinta Allan of weak leadership. “Under Jacinta Allan, Victoria has gone from the protest state to the hate state, and her weak leadership has allowed extremists to hijack our streets without consequences,” he said.
He claimed nearly half of all crimes were going unsolved while 24,000 police shifts were tied up at protests.
“Our protest registration system will balance the right to protest with the need to keep Victorians safe,” he added.
Shadow Tourism Minister Sam Groth said the protests were also damaging Melbourne’s recovery.
“Weekly protests disrupting Melbourne not only costs police resources but also costs businesses and damages Victoria’s reputation as a destination city,” he said.
Groth argued Victoria was the only state to see short-term international arrivals fall in the past year, with tourism still struggling after COVID.
