Tuesday, 11 August 2026

 Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (00:15): (2676) My adjournment is to the Minister for Police to address continuing high rates of crime occurring in Victoria. I have lost count of the number of residents across Northern Victoria who have shared their personal stories with me of how crime has impacted them directly. Behind every statistic is a person and a family who has been affected, and the trauma of a victim of crime can and does have a lasting impact. A close friend of ours was on a bus recently when a person impacted by drugs and alcohol hit him in the face with a bottle without warning, breaking his eye socket and cheekbone. It demonstrates the risk to community safety that exists when someone is under the influence.

I recently spoke with a lady. An intruder came into their home in Strathdale, and as they tried to stop him stealing their car, her husband was stabbed. That was over 12 months ago, and her husband is still suffering from the experience. Last week another resident contacted me about a home invasion in Flora Hill. She said an intruder wearing a balaclava entered their home while her husband was in the next room, and it was chilling to watch the security footage. She said, ‘You never think it is going to happen to you,’ but now she knows it can happen to anyone.

I know people whose cars have been stolen from the front of their house and a family that had intruders come into their home to find their car keys and steal their vehicles while their kids slept upstairs. In a single year, from March 2025 to March this year, there have been over 132,600 car thefts in Victoria. That means a theft occurs every 16.5 minutes. In just one year both Indigo and Loddon shires have had over 100 cars stolen; Swan Hill and Wangaratta shires, both close to 250 cars; Macedon Ranges, nearly 530 cars; Campaspe, over 750 cars stolen; in Wodonga, over 760; in the Yarra Ranges, over 1300 cars stolen; Greater Bendigo, 2223 cars stolen in a year; and in Whittlesea, nearly 3780 cars stolen. But that is not all; there are more, and every car stolen has a big impact. Recently I have had residents contact me to raise concerns about the increasing number of vehicles on roadsides that have been dumped and remain there for months.

Right now in Victoria bail laws allow repeat offenders to return to the community without consequences, and youth offending has become a significant concern in regional centres. The Nationals in government are committed to recruiting 3000 new police officers, introducing ‘break bail, face jail’ laws so offenders who breach bail conditions face jail, strengthening legal protections for Victoria Police officers involved in pursuits and increasing sentencing for pursuit-related harms. The action I seek is for the minister to urgently address Victoria’s crime by strengthening bail laws, increasing police numbers and ensuring repeat offenders are held accountable and to outline what immediate steps the government will take to reduce vehicle theft and ensure the prompt removal of stolen and abandoned vehicles on our roadsides.