Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Victorian Labor Government was elected on 29 November 2014 and the Premier was sworn in on 4 December 2014;

(b) the Premier:

  (i) in his election platform stated: 'More young people are turning to a life of crime. Crime has increased every year...Courts and prison systems are under huge pressure'; and

  (ii) took only one promise to that election in regards to law and order—$148.6 million to free up some of the 400 officers who supervise prisoners in holding cells;

(c) since being elected, the Victorian Government has seen prison riots, millions of dollars in damage to prison facilities, and a total loss of control over the justice system;

(d) when the Premier was elected, the crime rate was 7,869 offences per 100,000 Victorians, and Victoria's crime rate two years later is now 8,975 offences per 100,000 Victorians;

(e) between October 2015 and September 2016 this crime rate includes 12.6 per cent more assaults, 21.5 per cent more robberies, 13.7 per cent more burglaries and break and enters, 17.5 per cent more thefts, and 75.3 per cent more justice procedures;

(f) the Victorian Government is unable to control the criminals in prison let alone the criminals on the streets of Victoria; and

(g) under the Victorian Government, Victorians are just less safe;

(2) further notes that the Australian Government supports the fight against crime in Victoria, more broadly and specifically in the electoral division of Dunkley, through measures such as $925,150 from the Safer Streets Programme (SSP);

(3) calls on:

(a) the Federal Opposition to support measures that allow the Government to achieve savings to ensure even more funding for programmes like the SSP; and

(b) Members of the Victorian Parliament to ensure that Victoria has stronger policies on law and order including less bail and more jail for criminals who would pose a risk to the community; and

(4) condemns the Victorian Government for a lack of action on law and order and failing to protect Victorians.

Law and order has always been of serious concern for most of us, but, in Victoria, it has reached an extremely worrying point: Apex and copycat gangs; youths out on the street when they should be asleep; carjackings; home invasions; aggravated burglaries—anxieties about what kind of behaviour will be drawn out overshadow every public event, and we wait to read the damage in the newspaper the following morning. People are afraid to go out on their own, and there is now a market for tracking devices should your car be stolen.

Crime in Victoria is out of control. It does not matter what the state Labor government has to say; the statistics speak for themselves. The numbers of offences recorded increased by over 10 per cent from 2015 to 2016, and Victoria's crime rate is now at 9,119 offences per 100,000 people. This figure has increased by over 1,000 offences per 100,000 people since the election of the Daniel Andrews Labor state government in November 2014, and it shows no sign of abating.

The two local government areas that my electorate covers, Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula, have both experienced an increase in the number of offences committed and the number of offences per 100,000 people, as have many other areas across the state, some even more so. It is no wonder, when we are seeing police numbers drop across the state and police stations close. To quote a selection of crime reports from Dunkley's local papers over the last few weeks: in Frankston a vehicle was set alight, suspected stolen; in Seaford, assaulting a police officer; Langwarrin, police are seeking witnesses to a car fire; Mount Eliza, a pharmacy theft; Frankston, driving erratically—police tried to pursue but called off the chase; Carrum Downs, a group of youths armed with poles and wooden stakes. Such examples are not only present in my area but are increasingly common across the state. I have no doubt that my Victorian colleagues are observing similar patterns. Just this morning, for example, there was a horrific attack with an axe in an outer metropolitan shopping centre. We have become accustomed to the daily news of shocking street crime carried out on our streets in our towns and communities.

It is terrifying. Victorians just do not feel safe any more. People feel powerless. Their concerns are just not being taken seriously by the state Labor government, and we are left wondering: where next?

There is weakening confidence in our courts and prison systems; there is weakening confidence in our laws—and there is weakening confidence in our own state government, which is meant to be keeping us safe in Victoria. Commonwealth agencies have assisted their state law enforcement counterparts in Victoria to the extent that they can. However, we must acknowledge that this is very much a matter for the Victorian government.

It was, though, with sincere relief that last year Minister Keenan and I announced $166,000 from the Safer Streets Program specifically for Dunkley to fund multiple CCTV cameras and improved lighting facilities to deter and protect against crime in safety hotspots, which I know that this was welcomed by the community. We appreciate the support from the Minister for Justice, especially as we do not receive this support from our state Labor representatives or state government.

Victoria's bail laws are the weakest in the country, and we have witnessed prison riots so destructive that the prisons were considered unusable in their current state. Last month even the federal Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Bill Shorten, said:

I don't think we need too many more reviews. We know the problem. We just need to toughen up on the offenders.

We know it. The federal opposition knows it. The state opposition knows it. The Victorian state Labor government has let Victorians down by not acting on law and order and have failed to protect Victorians from a sweeping wave of crime across the state, of which we have yet to see an end.

The Australian federal government's stance on law and order issues is irrefutable. I call on the federal opposition to help us to continue to protect Victorians in the absence of a state government with the courage to take actions to fix our broken justice systems and to fix the continuing law and order issues in Victoria.

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