Wednesday, 19 March 2025

 John PESUTTO (Hawthorn) (09:50): Our justice system in Victoria is broken. According to the Crime Statistics Agency, in Boroondara, in which my seat of Hawthorn exists, aggravated robberies are up 57 per cent, residential aggravated burglaries are up 43 per cent, motor vehicle thefts are up 27 ‍per cent and thefts from retail stores are up 33 per cent. Not a day goes by, nearly, when a constituent does not ring my office to raise concerns about community safety and experiences that they have had to endure in our local community. The Allan Labor government has failed to manage justice in our state. Not only has it weakened bail laws in the past, it has cut police resourcing, it has cut youth engagement programs and it has cut outreach programs for at-risk youth. Even this government has now conceded that it got it wrong. My community is fed up.

That is why next Tuesday at 7:30 pm I will be hosting a community safety forum in my electorate with David Southwick, the Shadow Minister for Police and Corrections; Cr Felicity Sinfield, chair of the Boroondara Community Safety Advisory Committee; and representatives from Boroondara Neighbourhood Watch. My community want to be safe on their streets and safe at home and for those that make poor decisions and fall into a life of crime to have a genuine chance at rehabilitation. But that is not going to happen under the Allan Labor government; that will only happen under the next Liberal government.