The forum was in response to concerns raised directly with Ms Maxwell by members of the public and local businesses following a spate of farm thefts and burglaries at town businesses.
Despite the high crime rates in the region, the forum only attracted a dozen people outside of Ms Maxwell's office including Moira Shire Mayor Libro Mustica and Victoria Police's Wangaratta Local Area Commander Luke Kirton.
Ms Maxwell expressed concern to the government regarding the lack of a 24-hour police presence in regional areas such as Moira Shire, which relies on response from on-call police or diversions from other regional centres outside of station hours.
“What locals are saying to me is that criminals know how to manipulate the system,” Ms Maxwell said.
“While the police do a great job with the resources they have, simple geography means they can’t be everywhere and response times can be hours at best.
“Locals are frustrated and want an increased police presence.”
Local business owner Ray Fitzpatrick said the forum was well-intentioned but failed to hit the mark. He felt the low turnout was partly due to similar meetings in the past leading to little progress on the issue.
“This forum wasn't what we're after,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“She was interested in farm security and I explained to her there is more to it than meets the eye.
“She took that one board and it opened up a few points but her main goal of the forum was how to prevent farm crime.
“The forum was not a negative thing, we have had meetings before with 25 to 50 people and we were told the same thing, which means people don't want to go because they are sick of hearing the same stuff being said.
“(The low turnout) was probably not ideal because if business people want stuff to happen they need to do something about it, ringing politicians, sending letters to the editors, really flogging it.”
Mr Fitzpatrick said Ms Maxwell told those in attendance she would do her best to get Police and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville to the region to hear from concerned locals.
Ms Maxwell said she was committed to working with the government and Victoria Police to secure additional resourcing for Moira Shire and encouraged locals to contact her office directly with their experiences or concerns. The phone number for Ms Maxwell's office is 5443 6277 or email Tania.Maxwell@parliament.vic.gov.au
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