Tuesday, 9 September 2025

Community safety

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:47): (1930) My adjournment is to the Premier, and the action I seek is regarding the recent Victorian government announcement to ban the sale and possession of machetes statewide. I ask the government to develop a comprehensive, data-driven, multifaceted strategy that combines legislation with education, enforcement and social reform. Until we have a program that addresses the whole gamut of the issue, this ban will remain a kneejerk reaction rather than an effective solution. The government points to a terrifying 161 per cent increase in edged-weapon assaults at shopping centres since 2014, and a lot of those have happened in the south-east, I might add, with machetes identified as a weapon in this trend. But banning only weapons over 20 centimetres is an arbitrary kneejerk reaction; meanwhile, kitchen knives and hunting blades under 20 centimetres remain legal. We need more evidence of the ‘machete ban only’ issue – a pocketknife or a blade under 20 centimetres can still cause a lot of harm or possible death in the wrong hands. While I understand we cannot ban tools of trade, we need to have a more definitive approach to the banning and use of lethal weapons in this state. Victoria Police seized nearly 15,000 edged weapons last year, with no publicly available breakdown of how many of these weapons were machetes. From a security and risk management perspective, this selective legislation is ambiguous and hugely flawed. While some police acknowledge the ban as a deterrent, many are sceptical and see it as nothing more than political posturing. It is seen as an attempt to show action just over 12 months before an election, but is it really addressing the root issues of gang violence and youth crime?

I visited three of the machete bins in Cranbourne, Frankston and Dandenong in the south-east, and I can tell you that I interviewed people that were in or near the area, and I can tell you that this particular situation where the government has put in these bins outside police stations does not pass the pub test – people do not think that it is good use of the public purse. This program has been hurriedly introduced outside of a required unified approach that incorporates engaging with our disaffected youth, education, mental health support and tackling the glorification of violence on social media. While the intention to curb the rise of edged weapon violence is vital, this policy is not comprehensive enough. The other glaring flaw of this ban is the inability to stem the flow of the machetes that can be purchased online from interstate and international sellers. There is no regulation or discussion by the government to stop this; this leaves a gaping loophole which will continue to be exploited. Without a coordinated federal partnership or targeted action on digital marketplaces, this initiative risks becoming little more than a superficial gesture. Please understand I am not arguing against the machete ban, I am arguing that this ban is not broad enough and not transparent – and neither is the effectiveness of the cost breakdown. This was the government’s opportunity to do it right, and it has failed again.