Tuesday, 17 March 2026

 Brad BATTIN (Berwick) presented a petition bearing 406 signatures:

Issue:

This petition of residents in Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Assembly that the Queensland Government has introduced Jack’s Law in response to rising knife crime, and that Victoria is also seeing a massive increase in knife-related offences, with many involving young people and occurring in public spaces.

Named after 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was tragically killed in an unprovoked knife attack, Jack’s Law is already saving lives in Queensland. In its first 12 months, Queensland police conducted over 5,200 wanding operations, seized more than 400 weapons, and laid 250+ charges for weapons offences. It’s a proven, practical tool that helps police stop violence before it happens.

In the last twelve months there were more 11,000 edged weapons seized by Victoria Police and over 11,000 offences committed with a prohibited or controlled weapon (which includes knives) committed in Victoria.

By introducing Jack’s Law in Victoria, we can:

•   Empower police with preventative search powers (wanding)

•   Deter people from carrying knives in public

•   Save lives and prevent further heartbreak

Queensland acted. It’s time Victoria did too.

Action:

The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Assembly calls on the Victorian Government to urgently introduce Jack’s Law as a crucial step in giving police the power to proactively prevent knife violence through the use of handheld metal detectors (wanding) in designated high-risk public areas.

Ordered that petition be considered tomorrow.