Wednesday, 5 February 2025

 David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (19:12): (985) My adjournment tonight is to the Minister for Police, and the action that I seek is for the minister to update us as to when the 1000 police vacancies that we currently have in this state will be filled to ensure the front line is properly resourced so that there is not the need for many of my constituents and those around the state to employ private security to keep them safe.

Back in October I raised this issue in the Parliament, and I know in my electorate in Glen Eira 150,000-odd residents across the City of Glen Eira for many, many years had one divisional van looking after the whole area. We have a situation now because of the uplift in crime where residents have had to take the situation into their own hands and employ private security guards to guard their homes from evening until morning. It costs about $300 a month for about 50 people to come together to pool in and do this. Since then, with the increase and spike in crime, I am now realising that we are not the only ones, and there have been many people doing the same thing. Just last month the Police Association Victoria blasted the government, saying that while police are busy doing the very best they can, we know that courts are just being a revolving door and they do not have enough resources on the front line:

The consequence we’re now seeing is neighbourhoods banding together to fund their own private security, and not for the first time.

This is unacceptable. That is from Wayne Gatt from the police association. One of the examples was Jubilee estate in Wyndham Vale in the heart of Werribee, which is right in the middle of a by-election at the moment. Twenty minutes from the Werribee station locals are banding together to have private security patrols. The owner of the company conducting the patrols Grant Burton said they look after four housing estates across western Melbourne, and they receive an inquiry once every fortnight.

It is not just the west. Private security firms are being employed in Prahran, again, coincidentally, where there is another by-election, and also in Camberwell, Hawthorn, Toorak, Brighton, Balwyn and I am sure many, many others. Private security guards are being hired because the Allan Labor government is failing. We are all paying taxes. We all should have security first and foremost in terms of policing and not have to take the law into our own hands and employ private security guards.

The Lord Mayor of Melbourne also said for the first time they are going to have private security patrols patrolling the City of Melbourne because the Allan Labor government has failed to provide policing to do the job. With over 1000 vacancies, we need them filled. We need to ensure we return law and order to the state. There are no ifs, no buts. Get on with it and do it. Let us get the 1000 police on the front line, keeping our community safe.