By Ethan Benedicto
Following the most recent burglaries at a Berwick milkbar, alongside the development of Tougher Bail Laws, the development on tackling crime has escalated, with the Victorian government announcing a ban on machetes.
The State’s premier, Jacinta Allan MP and the minister for police, Anthony Carbines, joined acting chief commissioner of Victoria Police Rick Nugent on Thursday, 13 November, to announce the country’s first ever machete ban.
This announcement was accompanied by an expansion of knife-search powers, with the chief commissioner having the power to declare a location a designated search area for up to six months instead of 12 hours.
The ban itself will prohibit the sale or possession of machetes, and the items will be classified as prohibited weapons from 1 September onward.
Premier Allan said that “machetes are destroying lives so we will destroy machetes”.
“The places we meet can’t become the places we fear, I am listening and I am acting, with Austraia’s toughest bail laws and Australia’s first machete ban,” she said.
However, the Liberal Nationals aren’t entirely content with the development, with a press conference on the same Thursday between David Southwick MP and James Newbury MP shunning the ban as “too late”.
Southwick began by saying that it was 471 days ago that the Liberals “tried to introduce a ban on machetes”, but the reason that this development has only recently occurred is that Allan is “worried about her leadership”.
“This should have been done 471 days ago, not now. Let’s think about all the crimes that have happened in Victoria in the 471 days, this should have been done then.
“The Liberal Nationals have had four attempts to try and get a ban on machetes. Jacinta Allan has ignored them. Even last week, we tried to introduce an amendment to the bill, and again it was ignored,” he said.
Ever since Allan became premier in late September 2023, the Opposition has made banning machetes and curbing knife crime a key focus, with current Opposition leader and Berwick MP Brad Battin introducing the ‘Control of Weapons Amendment (Machetes) Bill 2023’ in the Legislative Assembly.
This proposition on 28 November 2023 sought to amend the Control of Weapons Act 1990, with the same current decision, to ban machetes by reclassifying them from controlled weapons to prohibited weapons.
Battin said then that the bill he proposed is not only “very important”, but “is genuinely a bill that lives count on”.
“We have seen too often in our community machetes being used as weapons in areas that they should not be.
“We cannot afford to delay this. We cannot afford for the government, who oppose every single idea from the opposition as a bad idea, to then themselves start talking about it in the future,” he said then.
Southwick has been delivering the same message, pushing for changes especially around tougher and harsher penalties for knife-related crime.
In the six months before the ban kicks in, it was stated that the state government will consult with relevant industries on the definition of machetes being cutting-edge knives with a blade more than 20 cm.
Likewise, between 1 September and 30 November 2025 will serve as an amnesty period, where people will be able to safely dispose of their knives without committing a crime.
Safe bin locations will be provided, which are likely to include an outdoor area at select police stations.
The Minister for Police Anthony Carbines said that “this is Australia’s first machete ban, and we agree with police that it must be done once and done right”.
“We’ll always give police what they need to keep Victorians safe – we’ll build on the extra powers we’ve already given them and help them search for more weapons,” he said.
However, shadow treasurer James Newbury said that every Victorian should be worried since the ban will not “fix the crime crisis in Victoria”.
“What we know now is that the government has announced the package but not explained how they’re going to pay for it.
“We know that the government can’t fix this crisis, and they certainly haven’t got a plan to fund it,” he said.
This story is developing, and more will be added once information becomes available.
