Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:06): Every Victorian has the right to be safe and to feel safe. The crime statistics released today show the Allan Labor government’s plan to deliver consequences for those who break the law is having a strong effect. We have seen already police holding more offenders to account than ever before – a record number of arrests of some 78,000 in this quarter. That is backed by $4.5 billion in investment from our government for Victoria Police members. And I want to thank them for the work they do, 24/7 right across our state, providing an emergency response to all Victorians.

We have seen our tough new bail laws lead to bail being revoked or stopped and cancelled; 84 per cent it is up. That is in the cancellations and revocation of bail across Victoria. We have also seen remand decisions up 70 per cent. That means people are not getting bail and being remanded in custody when they continue to flout the law. What we are seeing is that Victoria Police are saying that crime is stabilising. We have seen aggravated burglary down. We have seen robbery down, family violence down, sexual offences down. This is happening because of new solutions from our government: PSOs in shopping centres – a $9 million contribution from our government that has seen PSOs at Fountain Gate, at Highpoint, at Werribee and Northland make some 500 arrests and lay a thousand charges. It is about new solutions and backing the chief commissioner to ensure we are not driving desks, we are driving vans.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, I was just wondering if the minister could table his crime stats –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Northcote, you can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Northcote withdrew from the chamber.

The SPEAKER: When I am on my feet, members will be silent. The member for Berwick has a point of order. Please allow him to make that point of order in silence.

Brad Battin: I was just wondering if the minister could table the crime stats he is referring to, because they are not the same ones that Victorians saw today that show an increase in crime.

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

Anthony CARBINES: Some may be disappointed to see aggravated burglary down, sexual offences down, family violence crime down and robbery down, but not the Allan Labor government. We will continue to invest in new solutions for Victoria Police. We will continue to invest in our shopping centres to keep people safe, and we thank our PSOs and police for the work they do. It will not be about cuts, like those on the other side.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I will not tolerate members being called names. It is not appropriate in this chamber to yell names across the chamber. They have titles, member for Tarneit.