Thursday, 6 February 2025

Crime prevention

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:08): My question is to the Minister for Police. Minister, what policies do you have in the bottom drawer that would bring down crime in Victoria?

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:08): I thank the member for his question. Can I just say that a $4.5 billion investment in Victoria Police is a pretty good start in terms of tackling crime in Victoria.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Lara can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Lara withdrew from chamber.

Brad Battin: Speaker, in relation to relevance on my point of order, this is a very direct question that is not on the things that government has spoken about in the past. What policies are in the bottom drawer for the future to bring crime down in Victoria?

Mary-Anne Thomas: Speaker, on the point of order, there clearly is no point of order. The Minister for Police has been on his feet for a mere 15 seconds. He was asked directly about policies for police, and an additional $4.5 billion is one way in which you demonstrate your commitment to police.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the House will state her points of order succinctly. It is not for me to determine what the minister has in his bottom drawer, but I do ask him to come back to the question.

Anthony CARBINES: Further, 3600 additional funded police positions are another way to tackle crime here in Victoria. A $1 billion investment in new police stations is another way.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, in relation to talking about the things that the government say they have delivered, maybe he has got a policy to replace the 1100 vacancies we have on the current rosters here in Victoria.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. I ask the Leader of the Opposition to be very careful about points of order and to not waste the house’s time.

Anthony CARBINES: I did note that the report on government servicesthis week continued to point out that Victoria remains the top of the pops with the largest police service in the country, which of course means we need to invest a billion dollars in new police stations to put all the additional police in, given that we have the largest police service in the country.

I am really looking forward to joining the Treasurer in the other place in the next couple of months at the new $28 million police station in Benalla.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, the government cannot keep pace with the attrition in the police force. The minister is debating the question, Speaker, and I ask you to bring him back to answering the question.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Anthony CARBINES: There is a fair bit of attrition with the Leader of the Opposition over there ‍– it changes all the time – if we are talking about attrition rates. But I will come back to the question again. I point out that, with the critical work that the Minister for Emergency Services touched on around emergency services management, that new police station in Benalla will provide vital services in the north-east of Victoria, particularly around emergency management. I also might just point out the member for Albert Park and the investment in the new South Melbourne police station – $52 million with builders appointed. I was with the member for Point Cook just the other week to mark the $25 million investment to start to build the new police station in the west of Point Cook.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Wendouree can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Wendouree withdrew from chamber.

Brad Battin: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to relevance yet again, we specifically asked: what policies – not what actions the government have taken that have led to a crime crisis in our state ‍– are they putting in place that are in his bottom drawer?

The SPEAKER: I remind members that a point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, there clearly is no point of order. The decision whether to invest or not in Victoria Police is clearly a policy decision, one that this government takes very, very seriously.

The SPEAKER: Minister, be mindful of the question. I ask you to be relevant.

Anthony CARBINES: The continued investment in police services is the way in which we tackle crime in this state – a 24/7 emergency response available to all Victorians thanks to the work of Victoria Police, the largest police service in the country, as demonstrated again in the report on government services. That means you need to provide significant funding of $4.5 billion to invest in the largest police service. Then you have got to put them up in places, in communities, as we just talked about, like Benalla, like South Melbourne and like the Narres – Narre Warren South and Narre Warren North – with new police station refurbishments and expansions.

Of course I know the opposition leader is particularly keen on the constant redevelopment work and the new police station in Clyde North, which is coming out of the ground. The member for Bass did very significant work with the member for Cranbourne, and we have been out there to see that fantastic work on the new 24-hour police station for the amazing community there in Clyde North.

Some 70,000 arrests have been made by Victoria Police members to September over the previous year. I want to thank Victoria Police members on behalf of all members, because Victoria Police serve all Victorians. I take the opportunity to thank them for the work that they do through the leadership of the chief commissioner and his team to make sure that the 24/7 response is available to all Victorians to keep the community safe. We will continue to invest in Victoria Police, because the alternatives are the cuts and closures that we saw from those opposite when they were last in government.

Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (14:15): Crime has risen 15 per cent under Premier Allan. How many more traumatised victims will suffer before you bother to open the bottom drawer and to end Labor’s crime crisis?

The SPEAKER: The question is bordering on the hypothetical, but I will allow it this time.

Anthony CARBINES (Ivanhoe – Minister for Police, Minister for Community Safety, Minister for Victims, Minister for Racing) (14:15): I just want to point out the very significant initiative by my predecessor in the other place Mr Erdogan in relation to the financial assistance scheme – a $78 million-plus financial assistance scheme for victims – a very significant program under the leadership of the Allan Labor government to deliver those services, very vital and important services, to victims of crime in our state. That work is already underway. Those services are available to provide those financial resources to so many in our community.

But can I also say what remains important in the community is our continued investment in Victoria Police and the work they do. I get a bit of a sense there that people are pointing the finger and having a bit of a crack at Victoria Police, and I would hate to think that was the case, because I know that our police members put their lives on the line every day to keep Victorians safe.

Bridget Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, with Labor’s crime crisis perhaps there is nothing in the bottom drawer. Could you please ask the minister to come back to answering the question?

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The minister was being relevant. The minister has concluded his answer.

Michaela Settle interjected.

The SPEAKER: The member for Eureka can leave the chamber for half an hour.

Member for Eureka withdrew from chamber.