Assaults on parking officers 'disgusting and unacceptable'

19 October 2018

Liverpool City Council CEO Kiersten Fishburn has condemned as “disgusting” assaults on four Council parking patrol officers over three days in Liverpool’s CBD.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Ms Fishburn said of the two separate incidents. “These are people doing their job and they should be able to do it in safety.

“In one of the incidents, two rangers were responding to complaints a car was parked in a ‘no stopping’ zone outside a school, so they were protecting children in that case.

“There is never an excuse to resort to violence. Council has a strict duty of care to its employees and any assault on a staff member will be reported immediately to the police.”

Ms Fishburn emphasised that it is rare for staff members to be targeted and praised members of the community for intervening when it happened.

“These assaults were violent and members of the public stepped in on both occasions to protect the victims. Two of the parking patrol officers required medical atttention,” Ms Fishburn said.

Ms Fishburn added that there were many avenues available for those who disagreed with a parking fine including contacting Revenue NSW or Council’s Internal Ombudsman.

“No one likes being fined, but there are rules about when you can park and where,” Ms Fishburn said.

Complaints relating to members of Council staff can be referred to Council’s Internal Ombudsman. (Phone 1300 36 21 70 or visit https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/council/internal-ombudsman).

Parking Infringement Notices can be reviewed through Revenue NSW if the recipient believes there is an error or is seeking leniency due to special circumstances that contributed to the offence. (Visit https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/fines/pn/review).