Wednesday, 1 April 2026

 Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (14:31): My question is to the Premier. Late last year a 21-year-old stabbed two retail workers with a syringe in Mildura during a 10-day crime spree. She was charged and released on bail. After breaching bail she appeared again before the court, which was told the accused displayed ‘a comprehensive failure to comply with bail conditions’. Despite the magistrate acknowledging her breaches and the risk she would offend again, she was bailed yet again. Why are there no consequences for people who repeatedly breach bail in Victoria?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:32): The member for Mildura referred to what was no doubt a tremendously traumatic experience for people in the Mildura community in terms of being victims of the terrible crimes that she has outlined, and it is from listening to victims of crime and accepting that these crimes need to be addressed that we have strengthened the bail laws.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, no matter what we ask the Premier, she reads out talking points which are the same response to every question and do not deal with the question that is asked.

The SPEAKER: Member for Brighton, that is not a point of order. The Premier has only been on her feet for a short time. We will give the Premier an opportunity to answer the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: It is disappointing that the member for Brighton does not want to hear about how this week the final stage of our tougher bail laws has come into effect. They have come into effect because we have listened to victims of crime, like those outlined by the member for Mildura. We have been strengthening the bail laws, and what this means is that under these second-strike rules people who are on bail and commit an indictable offence will face tougher consequences. This follows the strengthening of the bail laws that we passed through the Parliament, at different stages opposed by those opposite, and what we are now seeing is that the number of people in remand is up by more than 70 per cent.

But we know that we need to continue to listen to victims of crime, to support the work of Victoria Police and also, most critically, through the work of the violence reduction unit, to look at new ways of getting in and preventing crime, working with young people particularly and understanding that there are new patterns of behaviour here. They are unacceptable, but we do need to recognise there are a range of reasons for this. Keeping these young kids connected to community, to faith, to culture, to schools and to families is how we get in and have the interventions. This is a program that has worked in London and has worked in Glasgow, and we have introduced it here in Victoria because we –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Bulleen, this is your last warning.

Jacinta ALLAN: The mocking of toughening bail laws and preventing crime exposes the Liberal–National outfit as so not being focused on Victorians.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question went directly to the government’s revolving door bail system, and the Premier has strayed very far from that question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier to return to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I was referring to the work of the violence reduction unit, which is getting in there and working with the community safety officers in schools, working with Victoria Police and working with communities to prevent crime. That is something that should be supported, not mocked like it is by those opposite.

 Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (14:35): Premier, the accused appeared in court again, where she was bailed for a third time. She went on to allegedly commit another violent crime. How are victims of these crimes meant to feel safe when violent perpetrators are repeatedly released back into the community?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:36): Again, the member for Mildura has not provided the details of the dates, and I refer to the fact that as of yesterday our second-strike bail rules have come into effect, which means tougher consequences for people who commit –

Jade Benham: On a point of order, Speaker, on being factual in the chamber, I have actually spoken about and raised this particular matter in this chamber twice previously to this.

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: We will continue to work with Victoria Police and continue to support the work of the violence reduction unit as well. This is critical work. It is hard work. It is challenging work. And it comes from listening to victims of crime, bringing in new measures like police in retail centres and looking at new initiatives that were announced this week, like ram raids being now recognised as aggravated burglary. There are a number of actions that we have taken, and we will continue to act to support the work of Victoria Police.