Tuesday, 11 August 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (14:52): Under Labor crime is up, police numbers are down and the opening hours of police stations in the Macedon district have just been cut. Kyneton police station is now closed two days a week and will shut at 4:30 pm on the days that it is open. Locals are now worried they will not be able to get help in an emergency. Kyneton needs a police station that is open 24 hours a day and ready to assist people when they need it. Kyneton station used to be open 24 hours, and locals could walk in at any time, day or night, to speak to a police officer, seek refuge or lodge a report. In 2023 Labor reduced the opening hours at more than 40 police stations across Victoria, including Kyneton station, which went from being a 24-hour police station to only being open 16 hours a day. But after the latest closures, Kyneton police station will be shut on Wednesdays and Sundays and only open from 9:30 to 4:30 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Under Labor crime keeps going up. Since 2022, assaults in the Macedon Ranges shire have increased by 34 per cent; burglaries and break-ins jumped up by 43 per cent; and theft of motor vehicles exploded by a staggering 207 per cent. Only the Liberals and our wonderful candidate for Macedon Kate Kendall have a plan to fix the crime crisis and restore community safety in the Macedon electorate by hiring an extra 3000 police across our state and imposing tougher bail and sentencing laws that will – (Time expired)