Thursday, 31 July 2025

Police resources

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:55): (1787) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Police, and the action that I seek is for the minister to order the prioritisation of a new police station for Wollert and confirm when construction will start and finish. The Victoria Police annual report 2021–22 says that their balance sheet increased in value, in part due to the growth in Crown land to develop police stations at Clifton Hill, Clyde North and Wollert. Construction on the Clifton Hill police station started in September last year, but there has been no progress at all on the Wollert station. The details of the land acquisition are given in the 2021–22 annual report for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and appear in the register of approved works-in-kind agreements for growth areas infrastructure contributions (GAIC). Exchanges totalling $6.9 million, including $2.65 million supplementary payments from the Building New Communities Fund, were completed in November 2021, transferring a parcel of land in Wollert to Victoria Police for a future station. It is now almost four years since Victoria Police acquired the land for a Wollert station, but no progress has been made on the project, and residents are desperate for more responsive and robust police activity in the area.

Under the Allan Labor government’s soft approach crime has exploded in Victoria and in the Whittlesea municipality. According to the last Crime Statistics Agency data, aggravated robbery in the City of Whittlesea increased by 24 per cent, residential aggravated burglary increased by 31 per cent, stealing from retail stores increased by 45 per cent and motor vehicle theft increased by a staggering 81 per cent. The crime wave is having a devastating impact on my constituents in the Yan Yean district, and increased police resources are absolutely vital for crime prevention in Wollert and surrounding areas in the City of Whittlesea. I have spoken in Parliament to tell the stories of families in Donnybrook who have been traumatised by home invasions and cannot sleep because they are so anxious about the frequent car thefts and home break-ins in the area.

I have also spoken in Parliament numerous times, calling on the government to properly resource Victoria Police so that the force can do more to address crime. I have called for increased police patrols and better use of mobile CCTV. I have repeatedly called for a new police station in the Whittlesea township and a station to serve Donnybrook and Kalkallo. We know that Victoria Police has secured land for a new station in Wollert, and officers from that station would be able to provide a more rapid response to calls for help from growth areas in suburbs like Wollert and Donnybrook. But the Allan Labor government is sitting idly on this land and not actually getting on with building the Wollert station that Victoria Police put in their 2019–21 funding priority list. Government guidelines for GAIC funding state that the project must be at a stage of readiness to facilitate rapid delivery. GAIC funds were used to acquire this land, but the project is clearly not being delivered rapidly.