Thousands of drunk partygoers trashed St Kilda beach during wild Christmas celebrations in inner Melbourne, with two men arrested and another taken to hospital after being hit by a tram.
The scene at St Kilda on Christmas Day. Photo: Twitter / @abcmelbourne
About 5,000 people gathered on the foreshore and nearby park on Monday afternoon.
Police moved in and cleared the area in the evening.
St Kilda beach trashed in drunken Christmas Day party https://t.co/0S1kU3OjHZ pic.twitter.com/ayx7Yx32BL
— ABC Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) December 25, 2017
A 27-year-old man was taken to hospital after he was hit by a tram, a 27-year-old woman was hospitalised for alcohol intoxication and a number of others were injured after stepping on glass.
Police said there was also a reported assault.
A number of others were arrested for public drunkenness.
The local council said it was forced to enact emergency measures, including the closure of nearby roads.
Inspector Jason Kelly said police were called "as result of large amounts of intoxication and alcohol consumption".
He said the amount of rubbish left across the foreshore showed a lack of respect for the local community.
"It's very disappointing, it's not acceptable … significant police resources have been deployed," he said.
"What people need to do is respect the local community, respect the local environment, and really, abide by the local by-law."
The City of Port Phillip is trialling a 24-hour alcohol ban.
Mayor Bernadene Voss said the incident was proof the ban was necessary.
"Because it's becoming very well known as the place to celebrate and drink to excess our council felt it was worthwhile doing it for the next 10 days in particular over New Year's Day and New Year's Even when it's quite popular," she said.
Cr Voss said she believed the majority of the crowd were British backpackers. She said the clean-up would cost thousands of dollars.
"My message is don't trash our beach. We love our community, we love our place, we want people to come and enjoy it but don't trash our place," she said.
Two women were arrested at the beach party in Sydney. Photo: Randwick Council
Sydney arrests
Two women have been charged with assaulting police after a beach party spilled onto the streets in Sydney's southeast on Christmas Day.
About 3000 people were at a party on Little Bay Beach on Christmas Day when police were called.
Police moved the crowd on from the beach, which is a designated alcohol-free zone, and up onto nearby streets.
Quick action from @nswpolice helped shut down a drunken beach party of 3,000 backpackers yesterday at Little Bay Beach. A big thank you to local residents and Council workers who cleared 40 bags of rubbish incl broken bottles in just a few hours. Info: https://t.co/WNjnwiBdOX pic.twitter.com/vJthUXVU04
— Randwick Council (@RandwickCouncil) December 26, 2017
Two officers were injured after allegedly being struck with bottles and assaulted as they dispersed the crowd and were treated for minor injuries at the scene.
Backpackers who were at the party claimed the crowd only turned ugly after police started using unnecessary force.
The two arrested women, aged 23 and 25, were granted conditional bail to appear at Waverley Local Court in January.
- ABC / RNZ
