Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:03): My question is to the Premier. This morning the Minister for Police once again blamed car manufacturers for Victoria being the car theft capital of Australia. Does the Premier agree with the Minister for Police?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): In addressing the Leader of the Liberal Party’s question, I believe the Minister for Police did no such thing. In a week where the Leader of the Opposition has shifted positions on a number of matters, I think it is difficult to take anything the Leader of the Opposition has to say at face value. This is a serious matter. Certainly those of us on this side of the house take community safety incredibly seriously, which is why in supporting the work of Victoria Police, the largest police force in the nation, we thank Victoria Police for the important work that they are doing.

We understand that motor vehicle theft is a serious issue. It is also a concerning and for some traumatic experience to happen to anyone. It is just unacceptable. That is why, in backing the work of Victoria Police, we are taking advice from Victoria Police, who tell us that organised crime is a big issue behind this matter, where we know that organised crime is recruiting young people to do their dirty work and treating them like disposable assets. That is why we have introduced a maximum life sentence for people who recruit children for serious crime. It is also why we are supporting those young people –

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, I believe the Premier is debating the issue. The question is about why Victoria is the worst – not that the crime exists but that it is so far beyond. If it assists the house, I can make available the insurance council’s media release, which simply is headed ‘Victoria still leads Australia’s car crime insurance claims’.

The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: We will continue to support the work of Victoria Police and, alongside that, that is why we have strengthened our bail laws. We are seeing far stricter bail tests, and those stricter bail tests are working as bail refusals are at a record high. We will continue to work hard to support Victoria Police to deal with these issues where organised crime is behind so much of this behaviour, and again I thank Victoria Police for their work.

 Jess WILSON (Kew – Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): Why have car theft claims surged in Victoria while declining in every other state, putting significant pressure on the insurance premiums of hardworking Victorians?

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:06): I draw the Leader of the Liberal Party’s attention back to my comments in the answer to the substantive question. Victoria Police tell us that organised crime is a big part of the challenge here, where they are recruiting young children, and it is why we are introducing tough new laws to punish those organised crime people who use young children. It is also why the work of the violence reduction unit is so important.

Danny O’Brien: On a point of order, this time on relevance, Speaker, the question was specifically about why Victoria is worse than every other state, where the claims are going backwards, and the Premier has not gone near that.

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

Jacinta ALLAN: I was also referring to the important work of the violence reduction unit. This is taking a new approach to the challenges that I acknowledge are there with too much youth offending. I do note that those opposite do not support the violence reduction unit. They would cut the violence reduction unit. We will support Victoria Police and we will support the violence reduction unit to support young people turning away from crime.