Members statements
Crime
Brad BATTIN (Berwick – Leader of the Opposition) (09:39): Crime in Victoria is out of control, and we are seeing it all the way across this state, whether you are in Werribee, where we have seen crime increase with aggravated burglaries, or out in the south-east through Clyde and Clyde North, where people are so fearful now that they are sending out their own fathers, driving around in cars, to create security on the streets. Crime in this state has been rewarded under this government for far too long, and the person that weakened the bail laws has now been promoted to Treasurer of the state. That is the problem with this government. We have had a government that for far too long has let the innocent victims become the story when it should be around those offenders we should have been locking up. For the government to come out in the last Parliament and turn around and say that they are introducing the toughest bail laws here in Victoria was a cruel hoax on the entire state. To come out and say that they are going to bring in laws to ensure that young people who commit violent crimes will be locked up is nothing short of a joke. Now what we are seeing is they have to go through a second tranche, and they are out negotiating again to see how they can toughen up those laws to keep people locked up here in Victoria. And it is across the whole state. We have seen it for simply too long. The only way to fix the crime crisis here in Victoria is to vote for a Liberal–Nationals government so we can deliver on what we promise, and that will be the toughest bail laws in Australia to keep the worst offenders locked up.