Local Heroes

Wyndham Action Planners

Words by Anna Zoltowski

Wyndham has finally been allocated an additional 19 Police officers for the Werribee Police Station.  This announcement is great news for the Wyndham community which has endured years of insufficient staffing levels.

This decision has come after years of desperate pleas by the community to do something about the lack of resources at the Werribee Police Station where staff numbers have been at desperate levels for some time.

Some of you may recall that in 2004, the Werribee Police Station was at risk of closing its doors after the situation reached a crisis point.  At the time, Lori McLean, founder of the Wyndham Action Planners Group, contacted the Victorian Premier Mr Steve Bracks.  Lori notified Mr Bracks of the desperate situation that Wyndham was facing and that something needed to be done desperately to avoid the shut down.

Lori says that the Wyndham Action Planners meet monthly to discuss community needs “campaigning for the rights of the people for justice and equality. We are passionate about issues that affect everyone. Our main issue is seeking safety for all, including our police, and advocating for more police on the beat”.  The Wyndham Action Planners take pride in the knowledge that they have played a part in raising awareness of the need for more police officers and that their hard work is finally paying off.

More recently, they have been focussing on the details of the proposed new police station in Wyndham.  Lori however says that this is not the solution they hoped for in their efforts for better policing of the Wyndham area. “Many people think that building another station is going to solve Wyndham’s problems.  Wrong, they will be increased as the police need to be under one command at the main police station.  Is another roster to be done with low numbers? How many stations are there now in Victoria that can not operate 24 hrs.???? OK Werribee you will get the new station but at what expense. Buildings are not the answer”.

If you have any issues relevant to the Wyndham community which you would like to raise, please contact Lori McLean on her website www.citywatch.observationdeck.org