Top cop says police will use ‘discretion’ around 6pm reopening of metro-regional border on Friday

Victoria’s COVID-19 rules will be relaxed on the eve of what is, for many, a long weekend.

At 6pm on Friday, the regional-metro border will reopen, enabling all Victorians to travel freely across the state.

And there are concerns it’ll cause chaos, with thousands taking to the roads at the same time.

Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton says police will “utilise their discretion” around people who head out onto the roads a bit early.

“If we’ve got someone who is an hour out before then … I would expect the majority of my office would apply discretion and say ‘An hour is not making a great deal of difference’,” he told Neil Mitchell.

Mr Patton says you could argue “from a safety perspective” it’s better for departure times to be spread out.

“Rather than everyone heading off at the 6 o’clock starting line, if it was a fraction earlier we’re not going to be very worried about that,” he said.

“The concern for us is about people driving properly and safely.

“Many haven’t driven long distances for a while so their skills will have perished and there are a lot of concerns when there’s a lot of cars on the roads.”

Press PLAY below to hear Mr Patton on the 6pm reopening, drug concerns + Victoria’s proposed new pandemic rules