Tuesday, 17 February 2026

 Ben CARROLL (Niddrie – Minister for Education, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC) (14:15): Everyone in this chamber has seen the power of education to change lives. On this side of the chamber we know that community safety does not start in the courthouse, it starts at home and at school. Education is the single most important tool we have to keep at-risk kids on the right track. It is not rocket science. When you intervene early, have a good education, a stable home and a stable job, you can change a life. And when you change a life, you change the world. Through the violence reduction unit, we are making sure that young people remain on track. We are placing early intervention officers right throughout our school network. We are making sure at-risk kids stay off the street by expanding support for after-hours sports and activities.

The science backs this up. Having visited Glasgow and seen the violence reduction unit and visited the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York, their experiences have shown that when you put early intervention officers in schools absenteeism halves and nine out of 10 kids see improved outcomes. The link between education and outcomes is irrefutable. Eighty per cent of people in prison have never completed high school. And we know rehabilitation is not the soft option, it is the hard option. That is why we are doing the hard work now to keep Victorian communities safe. We will make sure that young people know that we will support them every step of the way. If you let us, we will help you. But if you make us, we will stop you. We are on the side of hardworking families and we are on the side of making sure everyone gets to live a life of purpose.