Tuesday, 16 June 2026

 Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham) (19:12): (1704) I rise to raise a matter for the Minister for Violence Reduction, and the action that I seek is that the minister provides an update on how our government will support the rollout of early prevention models that were discussed at last week’s western metro violence reduction unit forum that occurred in Sunshine. On 11 June I had the absolute pleasure and privilege of joining the minister, local leaders and expert frontline agencies at this absolutely vital event across the western suburbs. I want to extend my sincere thanks to the minister herself and the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Safety for attending the forum. The dedicated VRU team, who were there in force, and our many community partners brought together an amazing day with such positive energy and, most importantly, evidence-led solutions that were on display and discussed at length.

This momentum is backed by our government’s recent budget announcement of $33 million to the VRU. This funding will go directly towards new programs that focus on early intervention and identify and disrupt youth crime patterns early. As discussed at this forum, the programs must involve the whole community but in particular young people. It was incredibly valuable to review the localised data packs that were provided for the Brimbank, Wyndham and Melton areas, highlighting exactly where early intervention is needed most. We know that violence can be prevented when we actively tackle the conditions that allow it to develop in the first place, and there was a real focus on the health and wellbeing of our young people.

The strong focus on secondary prevention is specifically stopping those emerging risks before they escalate. A shining example of the day was the work presented by the Target Zero initiative, which is being driven by Westjustice and the Centre for Multicultural Youth. This is a powerful project, perfectly embodying the local-led model that we need to prevent harm, distribute cycle pathways and support early intervention. To make this vision a reality, we need to continue to support the full landscape and those organisations that are working day in and day out to prevent violence and support our young people, organisations like 1000 Generations, the Les Twentyman Foundation, Youth Junction, Youth Support and Advocacy Service – YSAS – and legal aid.