Thursday, 10 September 2026

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (21:41): (2799) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Police, and it relates to car thefts across Victoria. Indeed Victoria, sadly, has become the car theft capital of the nation. New ABS figures confirm that we recorded in Victoria almost twice as many motor car theft victims compared to New South Wales in 2025, and my Eastern Victoria electorate is not immune. The crime statistics reveal theft has increased across every local government area over the past decade. In Bass Coast, in my electorate, it is up 145 per cent. In South Gippsland it is up 290 per cent, in East Gippsland it is up 128 per cent, in Wellington it is up 103 per cent, in Latrobe it is up 62 per cent, in Baw Baw it is up 39 per cent, in Cardinia it is up 32 per cent and in Mornington Peninsula it is up 19 per cent.

For regional Victorians a stolen vehicle is far more than just property crime. It is their mode of transport. It is their mode of getting to and from work, taking children to school and getting to medical appointments. Our logistics and transport are so very important. And not only that, it is the financial impost. Victims face insurance excesses, higher premiums, replacement transport costs and the loss of personal belongings. Tradespeople, farmers and small business owners depend on their utes, vans and trucks every day. A stolen work vehicle is lost income and disrupted operations.

Vehicle theft places additional pressure on Victoria Police – and don’t we know it? – at a time when the workforce shortages are impacting frontline policing. We know that there are 1500 vacancies on any given day across this state. Regional communities deserve a government that takes crime seriously and provides police with the resources they need to protect residents and stop motor vehicle theft. Unlike the Labor government, the Nationals and Liberals have a clear plan. We are going to reverse the crime crisis. First of all, we are going to recruit 3000 additional police, reopen stations that were closed and reinstate the hours where stations were reduced – and there were many in my Eastern Victoria electorate. We will also put PSOs back on train stations for that visual and deterrent factor. We will implement ‘adult crime, you will face adult time’ for motor vehicle theft, arson and attempted carjackings, and we will also introduce ‘break bail, face jail’ laws, meaning a tough new one-strike rule for bail.

The action I seek is for the minister to first of all apologise to my Eastern Victoria constituents and also explain what actions the government are going to take – and I suggest they take exactly the same actions. Or they can wait for 28 November when we replace them and get this state back on track.