Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:18): My question is to the Premier. Yesterday the Premier claimed the government’s machete bin program:

… has been (successful). It has dried up the supply of these dangerous and deadly weapons …

Yet within the past week two schools were locked down in Berwick after an eight-year-old boy was stabbed on school grounds, a machete brawl in Doreen between two groups forced the local Woolworths into lockdown and in Viewbank a 17-year-old was charged after an aggravated burglary where a machete was produced inside a family home. Will the Premier guarantee that knife crime will fall in the next release of crime statistics?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Minister for Finance!

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:19): Different Liberal leader, same undermining of the work of Victoria Police. The same approach at undermining the hard, good work of Victoria Police to keep our community safe. Those opposite might be wondering why they even bothered.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Lowan! Member for Laverton!

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to standing order 118 regarding imputations, on that occasion I contend that the Premier directly made an imputation against the Leader of the Opposition, assuming a perspective that she most certainly does not hold.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: I was only comparing you to the member for Berwick, for the benefit of the member for Sandringham.

The SPEAKER: Through the Chair.

Jacinta ALLAN: This is the same approach of undermining the work of Victoria Police. On the advice of Victoria Police to get these dangerous and deadly weapons off our streets by bringing into effect the first machete ban in the nation, the advice of Victoria Police in order to safely dispose of these weapons was to have the disposal units located out the front of police stations, and as a result of the work through Victoria Police, the machete ban and of course too the increased powers we have given to Victoria Police, those stop-and-search powers that they have now, we have seen more than 28,000 of these dangerous and deadly weapons taken off the streets. I thank Victoria Police for the work that they have done in drying up the supply of these dangerous weapons. Not only has there been an amnesty on machetes, from 1 December, so today is day 2 of the machete ban, there are serious consequences for people found –

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, I will not repeat the direct question that was asked, but the Premier is not directly responding, as is required under standing orders, to the question that was asked, asking for a commitment.

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the Premier how to answer the question. The Premier was being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: And this work continues. As I was saying, as of yesterday, when the machete ban came into full effect following the conclusion of the amnesty, there are serious consequences for people found carrying one of these dangerous and deadly weapons. They can face jail time. They face serious penalties, and that is because we have not only given police the additional resources, we have also made it very clear that there will be serious consequences for any individual carrying one of these dangerous and deadly weapons.

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): Yesterday the Premier claimed that 9000 weapons had been surrendered through the machete bin program. This program cost Victorians $13 million while knife crime continued. Can the Premier confirm this program cost $1444 per knife surrendered?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:23): Again, this is the same repeat pattern of behaviour from the Liberal Party in undermining the good and important work of Victoria Police, and I absolutely condemn this repeat pattern of behaviour from the Leader of the Liberal Party.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: The work of Victoria Police in drying up the supply of dangerous weapons has been so vitally important, and we work with and support Victoria Police. It was on the advice of Victoria Police as to how we could get the machetes, these dangerous weapons, off our streets, and I thank Victoria Police for doing that. We support Victoria Police, and this type of deliberately deceptive and misleading campaign from those opposite exposes that they are not fair dinkum about supporting Victoria Police, with their ongoing undermining of the work they do.

Brad Rowswell: On a point of order, Speaker, that is a pure attack on the opposition, unnecessary and untrue.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has concluded her answer.