Frustration builds as ‘ridiculous’ checkpoint remains

Nar Nar Goon checkpoint. 214887_01

By Mitchell Clarke

Cardinia Shire’s rural residents living between the “ridiculous” Nar Nar Goon checkpoint and the ring of steel border want the police stop moved back to Longwarry, or to have their restrictions reconsidered.

But Victoria Police have no plans to move the checkpoint and the State Government have no intention to reclassify the area as regional, despite pressure from the opposition.

With more lenient travel limits in places, Tynong North woman Robyn Keogh was looking forward to exercising with a friend who lives within her 25 kilometre bubble, but on the Pakenham side of the checkpoint.

Ms Keogh questioned police about the situation, but was allegedly told by three officers that her friend “probably wouldn’t get through” the checkpoint.

“They said ‘because what’s to say your friend isn’t just going to keep driving past your place and into regional Victoria’. They said there was no guarantee that my friend wouldn’t continue on into Warragul,” Ms Keogh explained.

“I rang my friend and said ‘don’t risk it’. I was just so enraged by it all. It’s crazy because I can travel to her no problems, but she can’t come to me.

“People from suburbia like coming out my way for fresh air and nature, especially since they’ve been locked in their houses and small backyards for so long.”

That particular encounter has reignited calls for towns east of the checkpoint to move to regional restrictions.

“If people can’t travel past that ridiculous checkpoint into our towns, then why aren’t we given the same restrictions as those in regional Victoria,” she said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said there was no way she could “verify” Ms Keogh’s claims but said police could generally gauge whether people were travelling for the right reasons.

“While we understand the checkpoints may cause some frustration for local residents due to traffic delays, they play an important role in providing a highly visible deterrent to not just those considering travelling into regional Victoria, but also people within metropolitan Melbourne who intend to break the 25km limit,” she said.

“We will continue to reassess this as needed, but at this stage there are no plans for the checkpoint to be relocated.”

The Gazette is also aware of claims the checkpoint was moved from Longwarry after receiving complaints from a nearby service station, but the spokeswoman swiftly denied those rumours.

She said vehicle checkpoints undergo a “thorough assessment” which deemed the current site the most appropriate location from a safety, logistical and operational perspective.

It follows claims a number of motorists have allegedly been told by police that regional rules applied past the checkpoint.

Narracan MP Gary Blackwood said he’d received at least five calls to his office, and seen numerous comments on social media from people who were allegedly told a similar thing.

“We’ve told people that is not the case,” he said.

“I don’t blame the police at all, they’re using common sense here, but it just blew me away. I thought ‘bloody hell it’s even more confusing now’. This just adds weight to the whole argument.

“It’s just frustrating for Cardinia Shire residents. This has just gone on and on and on.”

Ms Keogh, and a number of other residents who didn’t wish to speak publicly, claimed it was often a matter of luck as to who was manning the checkpoint.

“Obviously there are discrepancies and it all depends on who you get and what mood they’re in, it’s just the luck of it,” she said.

“I’ll often get an Army guy and when I reach for my wallet, they’ll say something along the lines of ‘oh don’t worry about that’.

“But it’s hard because I can’t say to my friend, watch on from a distance and count the number of cars until you get to the ADF guy.”