Wednesday, 29 October 2025

 Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:48): My question is to the Premier. Recently the Premier has claimed the CBD is safe despite violent protests and daylight stabbings. Over the weekend families were left terrified after a teenager was stabbed with a machete outside the NRL Harmony Cup event in Broadmeadows. Does the Premier consider Broadmeadows to be safe too?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:48): In answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question, I want to pay tribute to the hardworking member for Broadmeadows, who is not only the local member of Parliament but someone who has had a lifelong connection to the Broadmeadows community, who is working hard on behalf of the Broadmeadows community and who represents her community in a way that she is proud of that community and does not talk down the strong community of Broadmeadows. I say it in this context because it was the member for Broadmeadows who, out of concern for her community and the incidents that have occurred in her community, has been in constant contact and representations with me and the Minister for Police, working with us in terms of responding to these serious, brazen, violent offences that we see are increasingly being committed by children and that need a strong response from Victoria Police getting more police out on the streets, as the chief commissioner is doing, strengthening the powers of Victoria Police to seize these dangerous weapons. That is why we have the machete ban in place – a machete ban that has continued to be undermined by those opposite, but a machete ban that is working, because thousands of these dangerous weapons are being taken off the street.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: I was answering the question directly. I appreciate the Shadow Attorney-General is more interested in his points of order; I am interested in working with the member for Broadmeadows in supporting her community. It is why, in terms of responding to these challenges of crime, we support the chief commissioner in getting more police on the streets. We have given the police additional powers in stop-and-search powers, in electronic monitoring and in the tougher bail laws that the Attorney spoke of earlier.

What we are also doing in the community of Broadmeadows is keeping the TAFE open, making it free and helping more young people to get an education opportunity. I am sure the education minister could list the large number of investments that we have made in schools in the Broadmeadows community. I was with the member for Broadmeadows only a couple of weeks ago –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Gippsland East will leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Gippsland East withdrew from chamber.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question was very clear: does the Premier consider Broadmeadows safe?

The SPEAKER: I cannot direct the Premier how to answer the question. She is being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I was saying, I was with the member for Broadmeadows just a few weeks ago. We were in the local community. We were at the Glenroy Community Hub. We were in local small businesses. We were talking to members of the local community. And do you know what I saw in Broadmeadows that day and every single day? A strong, proud community. It is a community that is protected by Victoria Police, it is a strong and safe community and it is one that we will continue to work hard and invest in every single day.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Warrandyte can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Warrandyte withdrew from chamber.

 Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:51): Is Victoria now at a point where police are needed just to keep families safe at NRL Harmony games?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:52): This is why we are supporting the work of the chief commissioner in giving Victoria Police the resources they need and the powers they need. For example, with bringing in the machete ban, that is what we have done, and with stronger knife search powers, that is what we have done. Also we are supporting the work, the operational changes, that the chief commissioner is making to get more police out on the streets, because the chief commissioner has acknowledged that to both respond to crime and prevent crime there does need to be a new way that Victoria Police operates to respond to these offences. We need new responses to these brazen, violent offences that are increasingly being caused by children. That is exactly what Victoria Police is doing: recognising that getting police on the streets is about driving down those offence rates. That is why we will continue to support the work of Victoria Police.