Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:07): I have met with and heard from victims of violent crime, and these victims have told me how their experience has changed everything for them ‍– how they sleep, how they move through their homes, how they trust. They tell me how the fear lingers, and they tell me this too: there are too many victims and not enough consequences. And they are right.

Across our state, young people are committing crimes without thought for who they hurt or the communities they shatter. There are the families and children too who are left to live with the trauma of their actions. There are families like Mark and Tenille, who, along with the member for Hawthorn and the Attorney-General, we met here in Parliament recently, who told us about the trauma and fear their family continues to live with. There is the mum who wrote to me about the night her husband and son were attacked, defending their neighbours from a 16-year-old armed intruder. She told me about how her husband still carries the scars, not just the ones you can see but the ones you cannot. He cannot sleep; he cannot go back to work. Her son, once carefree, now lies awake, listening for noises outside. Her words are honest and heartbreaking.

Right now in the Children’s Court we know that 34 per cent of offenders sentenced for violent crimes go to jail. In the adult courts, for those same offences, 97 per cent do. That is why in Victoria we are introducing adult time for violent crime to make sure young people who commit violent crimes face adult sentences. It means the courts will treat these children like adults, where the likelihood of jail is higher, sentences are longer and consequences are more serious. The message is unmistakeable: violence comes with consequences. That is how we protect Victoria.