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Victoria Police has spent more than $25 million managing Melbourne’s weekly protests through Operation Park, which was established to combat antisemitic and other hate-based offences.
The Parliamentary Budget Office calculated that police spent $14.9 million on salaries and $10.2 million on operating costs for Operation Park between October 2023 and August this year.
Victoria Police advised that 23,928 police shifts had been deployed under Operation Park as of August 18, 2025.
The operation specifically targets antisemitic offences and other crimes based on race and religion across Victoria.
Shadow Minister for Police and member for Caulfeils, David Southwick, said Premier Jacinta Allan’s leadership has allowed problems to escalate.
“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.
Southwick said that nearly 50 per cent of crimes are going unsolved while almost 24,000 police shifts have been tied up with weekly protests.
He said Victoria Police faces a shortage of 2,000 officers and has had $50 million cut from its budget.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin said his party will introduce a protest registration system if elected.
“We support the right to protest, but we don’t support intimidating people, disrupting businesses and wasting police resources,” he said.
The Victorian costs significantly exceed those in New South Wales, where Labor Premier Chris Minns has said police should be able to shut down protests that were a “huge drain on the public purse” when costs reached just $5 million.
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport, Events and Hospitality Sam Groth said the protests are damaging Victoria’s reputation.
“Victoria’s tourism industry is still struggling to recover from the Covid era, while Victoria is the only state or territory to see short-term international arrivals fall over the past 12 months as protesters shut down businesses and streets every week,” he said.
