Tuesday, 28 October 2025

 Kim WELLS (Rowville) (13:05): This statement condemns the Allan state Labor government for allowing Melbourne to become the protest capital of the world. How proud we were once upon a time when Melbourne was voted time and time again as the most livable city in the world, and what a worldwide marketing bonanza that was. Now, day after day, residents stop me in the street and say that they will never take their kids into the Melbourne CBD because of the ongoing protests. You can ask: why have we become the protest capital? Because there are no consequences from the court system. I squarely blame the Allan Labor government for this disastrous situation. In Melbourne you can throw rocks at police officers, throw things at police horses and set bins on fire, and guess what you can be guaranteed: if you do get caught by police, you will be freed on bail so you can join next week’s protest and repeat your disgraceful offending all over again.

I feel for the small businesses in the CBD who are desperately fighting to survive but have to close week after week because of the protest violence. Just when you think it cannot get any worse, the Premier of our state says that Melbourne is a safe city. Yes, she may be right if she visits the CBD with her personal bodyguards in tow, but what about ordinary Victorians who just want to go about their ordinary business without fear of being impacted by the protests? We all believe in and treasure freedom of speech; however, blatant violence is not a right, it is a crime.