Tuesday, 25 August 2026

 Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (19:05): (1791) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Police, and I call on him to intervene urgently to curb Victoria’s crime wave. My heart sank in my chest hearing about the 10-year-old boy and his mum attacked in the CBD in broad daylight by a man with a pair of scissors. The woman was walking through the city with her three children when out of nowhere a random man punched her 10-year-old son in the head. When the mother stepped in to intervene he turned on her, and she was then stabbed repeatedly in the neck and shoulders. The alleged offender was stopped when witnesses came to their rescue and performed a citizen’s arrest.

This hits home because around the same time that day my mum was on her way back through the city after taking my 19-month-old baby to the zoo. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about my family being out and about in the city around that same time. I know I am thinking what so many other mums and parents are thinking: how did it get to this? When did it get to a place where you fear for your child’s safety in broad daylight in our city? I speak to parents all the time who say to me that they will not let their kids go out on their own anymore, to women of all ages who say they will not take public transport at night anymore and to families of all varieties who say they do not even feel safe in their own homes anymore. Isn’t it the fundamental job of the government to protect the very people they are elected to serve? How is it that it has come to this, where children and innocent people are no longer safe on our streets? I think of Van Viet Truong. We remember Aidan Becker. We remember Chol Achiek, Dau Akueng and Ash Gordon. Victorians are crying out for solutions and legislation that will fix the crime crisis and make them feel safe again.

This is our commitment to Victorians: we have a comprehensive plan led by a former policeman to keep Victorians safe. It is a plan for 3000 more police, a one-strike rule for bail, actual adult crime for adult time, 200 more PSOs to return to the 119 train stations Labor has taken them off of, a fit-for-purpose justice system with specialist judges appointed for criminal cases in our courts and more. It is abundantly clear to Victorians that there is a widespread culture of crime that has taken hold in our state – a culture of crime where youth offenders boast about getting out on bail by the time the police who arrested them have finished their paperwork and where organised crime gangs recruit children to do their dirty work because they exploit the fact they will not face consequences as youth offenders. This is why things need to urgently change. We have a plan to fix it and to keep Victorians safe.