Alcohol consumption on the St Kilda foreshore could be banned entirely after thousands of booze-fuelled partygoers trashed the beach on Christmas Day.
The City of Port Phillip has been left with an $18,000 clean-up bill after 5000 Christmas revellers created chaos in St Kilda on Monday evening.
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Christmas revellers trash St Kilda beach
As around 5,000 partygoers spilled onto the streets, drunken antics forced the closure of roads in the area around the in St Kilda foreshore on Christmas Day. Vision courtesy: Seven News Melbourne.
As partygoers spilled onto the streets, drunken antics forced the closure of roads in the area around the foreshore.
On Boxing Day morning the sun shed light on the sheer volume of rubbish left on lawns on the foreshore – a 200-metre long swath of broken glass, boxes, a supermarket trolley full of waste, bottles, food scraps and wrappers.
City of Port Phillip Mayor Bernadene Voss said she was "incredibly disappointed" by the incident and council would now consider a permanent ban on drinking at the beach.
A 10-day alcohol ban was already set for Boxing Day to January 4 to help curb violent brawls, but the council is now considering extending the ban over the coming summer months, or even permanently.
A 27-year-old man was hit by a tram during the mass gathering. Two people were arrested for public drunkenness and an assault was also reported to police.
"Port Phillip Council is appalled by the thoughtless behaviour of the thousands of visitors who have trashed the St Kilda foreshore," Cr Voss said on Tuesday.
"People are furious that visitors come to enjoy our beautiful place and trash it. That's what's so disappointing to people, that you can be so disrespectful to people's front yards."
Inspector Jason Kelly said a 27-year-old woman was taken to hospital due to intoxication and people were injured due to stepping on broken glass.
"An unplanned event took place, and that event escalated into quite a significant number of people being out here on the St Kilda foreshore," he said.
Cr Voss said she was hesitant to introduce a permanent booze ban that would disadvantage locals when the majority of Monday's revellers were, according to the council and police, backpackers and tourists.
But the council would consider it in the interests of public safety, she said.
"This isn't something council takes likely. We don't want to implement a full ban because it affects our residents primarily, but ... we have the safety of residents and the community at large to consider so we'll be looking at all of these factors.
"The police and our local member of parliament Martin Foley have both called for permanent bans for certainly over summer, and what we've decided is the next 10 days but we'll review that shortly."
Earlier on Christmas Day thousands flocked to the beach to play cricket, drink and eat.
About 5000 people gathered on the foreshore on Monday afternoon, Inspector Kelly said.Â
"Overall, considering the number of people here and that we have dispersed them ... it was a significant response from Victoria Police to ensure the local safety of the community here."
Two lanes in Jacka Boulevard were closed during the foreshore chaos.Â
Inspector Kelly said he was disappointed at the "level of intoxication" amongst revellers who flocked to the foreshore on Christmas night.
He stressed that while all were welcome to the beach, the local by-law prohibits drinking on the beach after 8pm.
He also said that from Boxing Day, a ban on drinking on the beach and anywhere in the city of Port Phillip would be enforced for the next 10 days.
Inspector Kelly said the level of rubbish was "appalling, really unacceptable".
Mr Foley, the state Labor MP for Albert Park, said the mess was "extremely disappointing".
"This is just unacceptable behaviour," Mr Foley said. "It's made our beautiful foreshore a waste dump, and seriously, this has been about the third or fourth year in a row," he told Seven News.
Many residents were furious. "This is absolutely an environmental disaster," one said.
Victoria Police confirmed extra officers would be patrolling St Kilda on Tuesday evening.Â
"Due to the high number of people visiting the area and the warm weather we do have an increased police members in the area to support local police and ensure community safety," Victoria Police spokeswoman Creina O'Grady said.
Â
Welcome to the St Kilda Tip, formerly known as the St Kilda Foreshore, after 5000+ trashed it last night. pic.twitter.com/LpeTv5Te8e
— Paul Dowsley (@pauldowsley7) December 25, 2017