Bill: Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and Other Matters) Bill 2025

BILL:

‘JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (POLICE AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL 2025.’

Thursday, 20 November 2025.

James NEWBURY (Brighton) (15:57):

I rise to speak on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and Other Matters) Bill 2025.

I think every Victorian saw Police Commander Wayne Cheeseman, at the end of a very long day, after hundreds of weeks of him and his fellow officers coming into the city to manage what has been the most outrageous and disgusting behaviour our city has probably ever seen, tipping a box of big rocks out onto the floor and effectively saying enough is enough, it is not good enough, what we are seeing is a disgrace and the laws are not strong enough. That is effectively what he said, and I think every Victorian heard that message, because we know that what we have seen for over a hundred weeks has been the most disgusting and despicable behaviour by some absolutely feral individuals who are knowingly and outrageously breaking the law. Victorians, Victoria Police and the good people of this State have had an absolute gutful.

This is not a new thing. It is not like we suddenly said, ‘We’ve reached the tipping point now.’ No, I think that Victorians saw the Adass synagogue burning only just across the road from my community and said, ‘How could this happen in our great State? How could that crime have occurred in our great State?’ I remember that morning being with the Member for Caulfield, and we were absolutely shocked at the news of that crime coming in. I think it would be fair to say we were not surprised when we learned of international actors being involved in that incident, that horrific crime. We were not surprised to hear of the links to international actors and the confirmation of terrorism – not surprised at all.

We were also not surprised only a week ago to hear that the alleged offender was let out on bail. That is the truth of this State: you can burn down a synagogue in this State and you get bail – what an absolute disgrace. I try very, very hard not to reflect on particular decisions that are made, but on this one we had a synagogue burnt down and bail given – what an absolute disgrace. I remember reading the reasoning of the decision and the reflection that it was a lineball decision – a lineball decision of course that went in the alleged offender’s favour, because of course it always does in Victoria. To think now you can have an alleged offence of burning down a synagogue and walk out the door because of our weak bail laws and because of our catch-and-release bail system is an absolute disgrace. It is no wonder why Police Commander Wayne Cheeseman, after coming out to the city with his colleagues every single week to try and stop the behaviour that is occurring on our streets, has had enough.

I think most people in Victoria, when the Premier in December last year put out a promise, an ironclad promise, to do something about this behaviour after the synagogue incident, hoped that she would live up to her promise. At the core of her promise was:

banning the use of face masks at protests, which are being used to conceal identities …

No equivocation there, no weasel words there – no left-wing sellout weasel words in that promise. But then we see in this Bill a complete sellout, a total broken promise, one that the Police Association Victoria Secretary has said is unlikely to work, which of course matters a great deal, doesn’t it, when we consider proposed laws. Further, it amounts to our members having to ask protesters nicely whether they have a lawful reason for wearing a mask covering. It should be renamed the ‘pretty please’ bill. The Premier has sold out and has in my view not told the truth
in saying that the advice the Government has received is that this would somehow breach constitutional issues and therefore they cannot live up to their promise. Will the Government release that advice? No, because it is not true. Has the Government released that advice? No, it is not true. It is a total con.

The Premier promised, in her own words, banning the use of face masks at protests. The only people who win out of this Bill are ferals who are breaking the law – they are the only winners. Somehow, we as a State have got to the point where we say, ‘We don’t want to offend the ferals. They’ve got rights too’ – well, bugger their rights. I think all Victorians are saying, ‘Their rights? Seriously, their rights? What about everyone else’s rights?’ When it comes to this law, when it comes to law and order in this State, I think everyone is jack of it. They are jack of this rationale coming from the Government that some how we have to care about what idiots, ferals and law-breakers think over what good Victorians do and what hardworking Victorians do every single day of the week.

On the face masks, the Premier is going to get her win. She is going to sell a supposed broken promise on the basis of it being somehow a breach of constitutional law – not true. The truth is there for everyone to see. The lawbreakers will win on this one, and that says everything about the Premier.

I would also like to mention the religious worship protections – or so-called protections – that were also committed to and how those measures have been watered down, which is an issue that the Member for Caulfield and I have both looked at very closely and that, through his Amendments, we are seeking to strengthen. There is a heck of a lot by way of important religious assembly that occurs that is not covered by the protections in this Bill, and we have raised that emphatically with the Government. In good faith I am saying to the Government: there is a pathway forward where you can extend protections beyond simply religious worship to religious assembly and not cover political events. I understand that there is a concern around political events, and I accept that. But I believe that the current measures do not cover what good people would think is deserving of protection, that certain types of assembly are not fairly protected and
that many events that I am sure many Members in this place would go to, they would be very shocked to learn, are not covered by this Bill. I would encourage all Members of this place to go to the Government with detail of the types of events they have gone to and ask whether this measure covers them, because it does not. I would say to the Government: we should work together in amending this Bill in the other place, as the Member for Caulfield has attempted to do, to make sure that on this particular element we can capture more fairly what should be the case.

This bill is a broken promise, like everything the Government do on law and order, like everything they do to supposedly fix crime. This is about press releases. The only difference on this one is this one breaches the Premier’s own press release – what a con! The only winners from this bill are law-breakers, ferals and idiots. How could you be proud of yourself? Of course we will support the minimal measures in this Bill, but we would say to the Government: how can you look at yourselves in the mirror when you have broken your promises, especially to the Jewish community at their most difficult time, and be proud of who you are?