Tuesday, 17 March 2026

 Bridget VALLENCE (Evelyn) (12:58): The spike in machete and knife crime across Victoria is distressing: multiple machete attacks every week. In Mooroolbark just last week a 64-year-old Croydon man was slashed by a gang of teenagers; 22-year-old Aidan Becker, a hero stepping in to help a teenage boy from being robbed in Mernda, was hunted down and brutally murdered by a gang of youth thugs, killed with a machete – he had his whole life ahead of him, and I extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends. My sympathies to all victims of crime. This is not the Victoria that I love, that I grew up in, but a Victoria under this government where there is more protection for the youth offender than for victims.

Victoria is gripped with a crime crisis due to a failure of leadership after the Allan Labor government weakened bail laws, cut police funding and is closing police stations. Labor has delayed bail laws to deal with violent youth offenders. Labor’s machete bins stunt did stuff-all – a total disgrace and a waste. I am angry. People in my community are angry; they are scared. Violent crimes are happening on our streets and in our homes, a shameful legacy of Premier Allan and Labor. Her words are hollow, because she is failing to keep our communities safe, to keep Victorians safe. It is time to change and to introduce Jack’s law, which would give police powers to seize knives and machetes from gangs before they commit crimes – and if you break bail, you face jail. Let us change Victoria and put community safety first.