Tuesday, 18 November 2025

 Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (23:50): (2142) My adjournment is to the Minister for Police, and I call on the government to scrap the costly violence reduction unit announced today by the government. We are told this new bureaucracy will cost Victorians $19.8 million, plus another $7.7 million for mentoring programs, and that it will report directly to the Premier. The government claims this will transform youth justice, but what it really represents is another layer of administration, another headline and another diversion of funds away from frontline services. Victoria already has a patchwork of crime prevention programs. The truth is the violence reduction unit is not about reducing crime. It is about reducing political risk. It is about headlines, not outcomes. This funding should be redirected to proven, community-led initiatives that strengthen families, support schools and provide genuine opportunities for young people. It is about creating the illusion of action while avoiding the hard work of investing in schools, families and communities. It is about plugging a budget black hole with taxpayer money, while telling Victorians that everything is under control. Instead of strengthening the CFA, local youth workers and regional services, this government has chosen to pour millions into a new bureaucracy that duplicates existing efforts and centralises control in the Premier’s office. The government points to Scotland and London as proof of success. Our communities face different challenges, and our justice system has different pressures. Importing overseas models without proper scrutiny is reckless. Worse still, the government has failed to set clear, measurable targets for reducing violent crime here in Victoria. Without benchmarks, this becomes nothing more than a political experiment funded by taxpayers. I am particularly concerned about the first program announced under this unit, pairing children as young as eight with reformed offenders. While lived-experience mentoring can have value, the risks of exposing vulnerable children to former offenders are obvious. Where are the accountability and safeguards?

According to the Crime Statistics Agency, youth offending has become more brazen, more violent and more organised. Carjackings, aggravated burglaries and gang-related assaults are rising, communities are fearful and frontline police are under-resourced. Yet instead of directing funding to police, schools and families, the government has chosen to create a new bureaucracy that will consume millions, duplicate existing programs and deliver little in the way of real outcomes. Our police are under-resourced, our schools are struggling to keep young people engaged and our regional communities are crying out for fairness. With the unit reporting directly to the Premier, there is no transparency. That is not accountability; that is centralisation of power. It bypasses parliamentary scrutiny, bypasses community oversight and concentrates decision-making in the hands of one office. That is not how you build trust in crime prevention; that is how you build suspicion. Victoria does not need another bureaucracy; it needs real investment in the people and communities who are already doing the hard work of keeping our state safe.