Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Members statements

Malvern electorate crime

Michael O’BRIEN (Malvern) (12:55): I have been contacted by a number of my constituents in recent weeks who are, sadly, feeling unsafe. They are worried for themselves, and they are worried for their children. There have been a number of high-profile incidents at Chadstone shopping centre and Glenferrie Road involving attacks on school students, while break-ins mean that people are increasingly feeling unsafe in their homes. Last week’s crime statistics reported a 42.6 per cent increase in burglaries across the Malvern electorate in just the past 12 months. Despite these undeniable facts, a lack of local police numbers means the Malvern police station, which is supposed to be open 24 hours a day, has at times been closed to the public. This is completely unacceptable. This Labor government has allowed crime to increase while shutting our local police station. On behalf of my constituents, I call on this Labor government to properly staff Malvern police station and get serious about tackling crime in my community.