RPP FM reports that displaced residents of McCrae’s landslide-affected zone say their homes are being looted daily, with police unable to intervene due to ongoing safety risks.

More than a month after the January 14 landslide, nineteen properties remain inside an exclusion zone, preventing both homeowners and law enforcement from accessing the area. Despite CCTV, security patrols, and fencing, looters continue to ransack vacant homes. At least eight break-ins were reported last week, and there are also reports of squatters occupying vacant properties.

Mornington Peninsula Shire Mayor Anthony Marsh, speaking in an interview with RPP FM Radio, acknowledged the distressing situation but maintained that law enforcement is a state responsibility rather than a council matter.

“Our job is not to fight crime and to enforce the law, so I’m just trying to make it very clear,”

“But yeah, I do think people, when you get into the conversation, they come around to that and they understand where we’re coming from.”

Said Marsh.

Residents are growing increasingly frustrated as police remain unable to enter the unstable zone. With no clear timeline for when authorities will regain access, the looting appears to be unchecked.