Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Police powers

Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (19:05): (883) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Attorney-General in the other place, and the action I seek is an increase in stop-and-search powers for Victoria Police. Last week in Traralgon a security guard was violently assaulted with a hammer by a group of youths. In April I stood in this place and detailed a string of three violent attacks that took place in the valley – two that involved machetes – and urged the state government to get serious on youth crime. I could use every contribution allocated to me in this place to tell stories of violent crime in my electorate and it still would not touch the sides of this issue.

We have recently seen the government backflip on bail penalties, which the opposition had been calling for, and some strengthened stop-and-search powers for police, but they are only in designated areas. Our police do a power of work in keeping our community safe, but this is hampered by legislation that prevents them from doing this to the best of their ability. You only need to listen to the family of the late Dr Ashley Gordon, who was tragically killed during a house invasion earlier this year, for a minute to understand why they are calling for police to have greater stop-and-search powers. Their petition, which I will table next month, has attracted some 6000 signatures. Victorians want this change.

Labor has cut nearly $20 million from the courts and has cut money from prevention and diversion programs, and statistics show there was a massive 30 per cent increase in crimes committed by 14- to 17-year-olds last year. Our Latrobe Valley streets are becoming more dangerous every day. Our train and bus interchanges are places you now enter with no guarantee of your safety. Our shopping centres are becoming places where it is dangerous to shop and more and more dangerous to even work. This is a wicked and complex issue, and often there are many contributing factors at play, particularly when it comes to young people. There is no solution to this problem, but there are real, decisive actions the state government can take to prevent certain crimes from occurring in the first place, including affording police greater stop-and-search powers.