Thursday, 19 March 2026

 Brad BATTIN (Berwick) (14:20): My question is to the Minister for Police. New crime data confirms offending in Victoria has reached a record 630,592 offences in the past year. Why has the minister comprehensively failed to keep Victorians safe, with more than 1500 vacancies on police rosters?

 Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:20): I welcome the member back from the witness protection program, because it has been a long time since I have had a question on any matter from the member.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Members will be removed from the chamber. I am looking at you, member for Tarneit.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, with an extra 750 victims each and every day here in Victoria, I find it inappropriate for the minister to get up and make a joke about crime here in our state.

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

Anthony CARBINES: I want to thank Victoria Police for the record number of 78,000 arrests that they have been able to achieve over this past year compared to the same time last year. You cannot do that unless you are investing over $4.5 billion into Victoria Police, not $100 million in cuts like some have done, not investing in no additional police like some have done when they have had the opportunity to be on this side of the house. What we need to make sure is that Victoria Police are providing 24/7 emergency support, 24 hours a day, for Victorians right across this state. We have seen, as I said, Operation Pulse in shopping centres across Victoria – 500 arrests, a thousand charges. That is about investing in new solutions, responding to what the community has asked for, responding to what small businesses have asked for, to make sure –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the minister has not dealt with the record number of vacancies that exist in Victoria Police.

The SPEAKER: The minister is being relevant to the question that was asked.

Anthony CARBINES: I know that there is a particular vacancy in Nepean that those opposite do not seem to want to talk very much about.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Gippsland East can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Gippsland East withdrew from chamber.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, a young boy died last weekend. The minister needs to grow up.

The SPEAKER: Member for Brighton, you know that is not a point of order.

Anthony CARBINES: Most fortnights I am at the police academy, where we see almost 48 double squads graduating every fortnight. That will be happening again from April, in the very next month. We also know that Victoria has more sworn police officers than any other jurisdiction in the country. That is a fact. Absolutely that is a fact. We continue to invest in Victoria Police, a record $4.5 billion a year to give them the tools they need to keep Victorians safe. It is why our chief commissioner is making sure we have got more police driving divvy vans instead of desks. These are the changes that we need to make to ensure Victoria Police members are on the front line.

It is also through an EBA that delivered them a 20 per cent pay rise under our government. If you want to come and join Victoria Police, our Made for More campaign that we invest in to recruit and attract more police than ever before is the investment that is being made by our government. It is new police stations at Narre Warren that we are about to reopen, a significant redevelopment at South Melbourne and also at Benalla, where we have opened new police stations, and also the investments that we are making at Clyde North. This is all about making sure that police have 21st-century services to work from and to provide support to Victorians.

We know that a 24-hour police response is available to all Victorians any time of the day or night, any day and night of the year. That is provided because our chief commissioner has the full support of this Parliament and our government to make sure that Victoria Police is a fit-for-purpose organisation. The frontline police have the opportunity to protect Victorians; they are out there on the front line each and every day. We thank them for the work that they do. Our government will continue to invest in them. The opposition is about Liberal cuts.

 Brad BATTIN (Berwick) (14:25): This morning the minister said that manufacturers need to take some responsibility here. Does the minister seriously believe that car manufacturers are responsible for one car being stolen every 16 minutes in Victoria?

 Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:25): I get the sense that the supplementary question went to crime statistics. Let us go to crime statistics: aggravated burglaries down, sexual offences down, robbery down, family violence offences down –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Member for Berwick, you are warned.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to relevance, the question was directly about car thefts, which have increased to one every 16 minutes here in this state, which seems to outdo every other state, and the minister wants to blame the manufacturers.

The SPEAKER: I remind members that a point of order is not an opportunity to make a statement to the house. I cannot tell the minister how to answer the question. He was being relevant.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, I seek clarification. The actual question was directly around car thefts in Victoria, and the minister decided to turn it around to just crime statistics in themselves. Can I seek clarification that your ruling is now that by mentioning something about crime the minister can go in any direction they want rather than answering the question? If that is the case, we may as well not ask questions of the Labor Party, who refuse to answer and you continue to protect them.

The SPEAKER: As the member for Berwick knows, if he wishes to discuss my rulings, he is welcome to do so after question time. I do believe that the minister was being relevant to the question and in fact to the substantive question as well, which he is entitled to be. The minister has concluded his answer.