Wednesday, 1 April 2026

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. Early on a Saturday morning a man approached two young women in their car and attacked their vehicle. The women drove to Reservoir police station seeking refuge only to find it closed. One of the women was subsequently slashed with a knife outside the police station. Why was it closed?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): It is deeply concerning to hear those experiences of what I acknowledge are too many victims of crime here in Victoria. It is from listening to those experiences of victims of crime that we have moved to strengthen the bail laws, introduce adult time for violent crime and bring about a new approach through the violence reduction unit to working with communities to prevent crime and support the work of Victoria Police. When it comes to the work of Victoria Police, I note that they are –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on debating the question, the Premier has not dealt with the substance, which was about why the station was closed – simple.

The SPEAKER: The Premier has 2 minutes and 18 seconds to answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: In referring to the hard work of the men and women of Victoria Police, I was referring to the fact we do have the largest police force of any state or territory here in Australia and we have backed their work with billions of dollars of investment, new laws and powers, and new tools and resources. That is why we support the work of the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police to have more police out on the streets –

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, again on debating the question, for two days in a row, on any question relating to police station closures, the Premier has refused to debate the substance of the question.

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the Premier how to answer the question. The Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: It is in that context of supporting the operational decision-making of the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police that we have supported the work of Operation Pulse, which is getting police and PSOs into shopping centres. It is also supporting the work of the chief commissioner to get more police out onto the streets. As the Leader of the Opposition should well know, operational decisions are a matter for the chief commissioner, not politicians.

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:05): Months later, Reservoir police station remains closed at night. Why does the Premier claim police are resourced when Victoria Police say counters are closed due to resourcing challenges?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:06): I will take my advice on how decisions are taken to best operationalise the largest police force in the nation from the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police. We are supporting the work of the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, who is working incredibly hard to get more police out onto the streets to prevent and respond to crime. We support the work of the chief commissioner in supporting the work of the men and women of Victoria Police, and I respect their operational decisions, which are based on data and intelligence, not on politicians.