Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Bail laws

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. Yesterday two offenders involved in the Northland machete rampage were given bail despite already being on bail at the time of the attacks. Why are dangerous offenders repeatedly bailed under this government’s weak bail laws?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:02): The only thing that is weak in this place is the Leader of the Opposition and his complete failure –

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, this is a very serious matter and people are at serious risk. I would ask you to ask the Premier, on relevance, to come back to answering the question.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, the Premier has been on her feet for 10 seconds, and I would ask that you counsel the Manager of Opposition Business against wasting our time with pointless points of order.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I was reminding the house of how weak the Leader of the Opposition is, because he opposed the tough new bail laws that are now in place today – these tough new bail laws that have put community safety first. The government and the Parliament have made it absolutely clear to the justice system that community safety does come first and is expected to come first in all bail-making decisions. That has been absolutely something that has been communicated by the Attorney-General and made very clear by the government. I am not going to follow the Leader of the Opposition, as he has already this week criticised the actions of Victoria Police, compromising their safety when it comes to the rollout of Australia’s first machete ban. I will not follow the Leader of the Opposition into criticising individual decisions other than to repeat that it is very clear to the government and the Parliament, not withstanding the opposition from the Leader of the Opposition to these tough new bail laws, that community safety must come first. We will continue to give Victoria Police the tools and the powers and the resources that they need to keep our community safe, and I note we are now 2 ‍hours and 5 minutes into the first ban in the nation on the sale of machetes – the only state in the nation to do so, demonstrating our commitment to community safety.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Leader of the Nationals, the member for Nepean and the Leader of the Opposition to cease interjecting across the table.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. It is a very narrow question about offenders being bailed. Could you ask the Premier to come back to that question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded her answer.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): With four Northland offenders out on bail, families, retail workers and security do not feel safe. When will the government finally protect the Victorian community and reverse its weak bail laws?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:06): In referring to the Leader of the Opposition’s question, I would suggest he goes and checks the statements that have been made by Victoria Police. What I will say very clearly is that the experience at Northland shopping centre on Sunday would have been incredibly difficult and traumatic for the retail workers, which is why we are working on legislation right now to increase penalties for people who threaten the safety of retail workers in this state. It also would have been incredibly distressing for the families and the shoppers in that shopping centre to witness this attack, which is why we are so grateful for the swift response from Victoria Police. I will not criticise Victoria Police, like those opposite have done this week. I will not compromise the safety of Victoria Police.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, it is a very narrow question about when the government will reverse its weak bail laws. I would ask you to ask the Premier to come back that.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant.

Jacinta ALLAN: We will continue to build on our tough new bail laws with a second tranche, as we have committed to, to make the bail laws in this state the toughest in the nation.