Parking to be made FREE in one Australian city after a campaign to support doctors and nurses fighting coronavirus
- Melbourne will scrap parking fines while city undergoes stage four restrictions
- Restrictions will still apply to disabled spots, loading, tow-away and no-stopping
- It comes days after a Melbourne doctor was fined after working a gruelling shift
Melbourne will scrap parking fines while the city undergoes stage four coronavirus restrictions.
The City of Melbourne CEO Justin Hanney announced on Friday all parking in areas with green signs would be unlimited during the lockdown.
The change comes just days after a doctor was slapped with a $99 fine following a gruelling shift on Monday night.
However, restrictions will still apply to disabled parks, loading zones, no-stopping areas and tow-away clearways.
Melbourne will scrap all parking fines while the city undergoes stage four coronavirus restrictions
‘Parking officers are considered essential workers under State Government definitions and will continue to be visible on our streets,’ Mr Hanney said.
‘They play an important role in managing public safety and road access for residents, essential workers and emergency service vehicles.
‘We ask everyone to be mindful of the important of vehicle turnover to support people needing to access essential services and businesses.’
Dr Katarina Arandjelovic, an anaesthetic registrar at Royal Melbourne Hospital’s intensive care unit, sparked outrage when she shared she had been penalised during a shift.
Dr Katarina Arandjelovic, an anaesthetics registrar at Royal Melbourne Hospital’s intensive care unit, was fined $99 after a lengthy night shift on Monday
After working 56 hours over four days and taking care of ‘some of the state’s sickest patients,’ Dr Arandjelovic finished her gruelling shift at 10pm on Monday to find a $99 fine (pictured) on her windshield
In a social media post she blasted the City of Melbourne council and Lord Mayor Sally Capp for targeting essential workers during the pandemic.
Her post was flooded with hundreds of comments from people offering their support.
But a kind local man Brent Hodgson, from Hawthorn East, went a step further with his appreciation by paying the fine himself.
His gesture was met with a flurry of support online, with Melburnians saying he deserved a ‘top bloke award’ and calling for the money to be refunded.
The random act of kindness forced the council to backflip by reviewing and revoking the fine, with Mr Hodgson understood to be in line to get his money back.
‘Sorry we missed the mark on this tweet Dr Katarina Arandjelovic. Given your critical role, we have withdrawn the fine. Royal Melbourne Hospital is being provided with additional frontline worker permits,’ it wrote on Twitter.
More to come.