Bill Debate - Youth Justice Bill 2024: Council Amendments

YOUTH JUSTICE BILL 2024: COUNCIL AMENDMENTS.

Tuesday, 27 August 2024.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (14:51):

What we are considering today is Amendments to law which will go only half of the way, or part of the way, to trying to fix the mistakes that this current Government made – that this current Government made.

This Government watered down the law – that is what this current Government did – and it was the current Premier that did it.

At the time the Coalition strongly spoke out about what was being proposed. The Coalition knew the effect and impact of those changes, and the Government did not listen. The Government said, ‘We know better. We are deaf to these concerns and there will be no impact.’ What we know is that there have been hundreds of people who have been affected by crime who would not have been had these changes not occurred earlier in the year. That is a fact.

We also know that three people have died. Earlier this year the Coalition called out what the Government was proposing to do, and the Government ignored it. I would say to them again today that what the Government is proposing to do today will not fix the problem. The Government will not fix the problem with the amendments they are passing, and the community knows it. The only difference now is the community knows it and the Government has been politically pushed by the right – who are briefing – to amend the law. That is what has happened.
This is an attempted political fix by part of Labor’s party room in response to what the community knows is a youth crime crisis.

In my particular community we are very aggrieved because over two years ago the former Premier told us as a community that we did not understand what we were talking about when we said there was a crisis starting to occur in our community. The former Premier victim-blamed anybody who stood up and said that we did not understand. Victoria Police have since  confirmed that the youth crime crisis in Victoria started in my electorate. Victoria Police have confirmed that. So, the former Premier, who knew better than everybody else, who said that we did not understand what we were talking about – shame on him – got it wrong, and hundreds of people have been victims as a result.

Danny Pearson interjected.

James NEWBURY: I tell you what, the former Premier isn’t anything like Elvis, he is a pig of a man.

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Brighton, that is unparliamentary language.

James NEWBURY: Thank you, Speaker, whether or not it is true. The Amendments we are dealing with today will not fix the problems in the youthcrime crisis that is occurring in our community, and the community knows it. This half-baked political fix, which is all it is, being pushed by the right, who are briefing out from Cabinet on their little wins –

Members interjecting.

The CHAIR: Order! The member for Brighton, without assistance.

James NEWBURY: We know that these Amendments will not fix what has been a 146 per cent increase in aggravated burglaries in homes in the time of this government – a 146 per cent increase in aggravated burglaries, an almost 20 per cent increase over the last year. It is massively more in my community, but the average across this State is almost 20 per cent.

We are talking about the most serious of crimes, where you wake up – oftentimes in my community people are sleeping, their families are sleeping, their little kids are sleeping – and find a gang in your home with very big weapons. It must be one of the worst possible crimes a parent can face. Having spoken to more victims than I could possibly go through, I know it is a deeply scarring event, not just for the short term but a crime that stays with victims for a very long time. I regularly talk to victims after the event and they talk to me about the long-term impact they bear, the way they cannot sleep and the types of mental health anguish they go through purely because the Government watered down the law and as a result repeat offenders have been let out again and again and again and again and again and again – more than 10 times is not uncommon.

The changes before us today still do not make breaching bail an offence. The reason why I can say with great sadness that these Amendments will not fix the problem is because the offenders who are committing the worst offences know that if they breach bail, it does not matter. There is literally no punishment. It does not matter. Shame on the Government. This crime crisis will get worse, and it will continue because the fix will not solve the problem.

This is a political fix, that is what it is. It is nothing more than a political fix. It is the only type of fix that could get through their party room. That is what this fix is. You could see a massive difference between the Minister for Police and theAttorney-General – a clear difference in views of what they wanted to see in terms of changes or not at all, but the community had spoken. Only on Friday, at a quarter to 4 in the afternoon, there was a knife fight in the main street in my community. Chairs were being thrown and bottles were being thrown. Only minutes later I talked to people who were there when it happened, and there were mums with little kids walking along the street who were dodging a knife fight in the middle of the street. These types of crimes are not uncommon.

People have often heard me talk in this place about the crimes that have been happening in my community – crimes that are now occurring in other parts of the community. These crimes are real, and for too long this government has denied these crimes, watered down the laws and not fixed the problem. Though we see an attempted political fix now, which will not solve the problem, what we know is the community has worked it out, because they are seeing the crimes. Only today you saw in Hawthorn that example raised by a number of members – a car flipped, and someone being forced to make a citizen’s arrest on their morning coffee run. How can this occur, and the Government not want to fix it? That is what I would ask. How can these crimes continue to occur, and the Government not want to solve it and fix it properly?

We will see these crimes continue, terribly and sadly, and we will see a continuing repeat of offences, because the laws do not put in place a proper series of protections for the community or disincentives for repeat behaviour. This political fix, which has only just been an agreement that the left in the Government’s party room would agree to, we know will not solve the problem. Shame on the Government for their behaviour over the two years, for denying these crimes, for watering down these laws and for seeing Victorian victims continue to be hurt by this crime crisis.