Queenstown police want the public to know they are not ‘‘Aussie bashers’’.

Recent incidents involving Australians misbehaving in the resort have made headlines, prompting police to come out and say they are are not singling out the poor behaviour of our visiting neighbours.

‘‘We don’t want to single out the Australians as a problem because they’re not,’’ Sergeant Mark Gill, of Queenstown, said.

‘‘We just want people to realise that bad behaviour won’t be tolerated and we will deal with it.’’

Queenstown police have arrested several Australians this winter for offences ranging from drink driving to assault and ski pass fraud.

However, given the high number of Australian visitors coming to town, the percentage behaving badly was no greater than that of visitors from other countries.

‘‘Let’s not blow this out of proportion,’’ Mr Gill said.

Only a very small percentage of Australian visitors were arrested and for the most part they were being arrested for minor offences, which might go unreported in other centres, he said.

‘‘It’s a small CBD and with the police that we’ve got we are dealing with this minor disorder a lot of the time because we can.’’

A pro-active approach to safety in the central business district, which attracted thousands of partygoers every night, meant police were called to attend minor incidents such as argumentative patrons being denied access to bars, he said.

‘‘We want to promote this as a safe place to come. Drink responsibly, look after your mates and make sure you go home.’’

- © Fairfax NZ News

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