- 5 minutes ago
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll says community safety is his top priority, after a deadly attack involving two delivery riders in Melbourne's CBD.
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00:05Our first duty is keeping Victorians safe.
00:09My first phone call when I became Premier was to the Chief Commissioner of Victoria
00:15Police.
00:16To keep communities safe you need to address the root causes of offending.
00:21That is why under my government we will deliver a mandatory rehabilitation secure facility.
00:31This will be an Australian first.
00:34Any youth that is committing crime that is considered low level like a knife, carrying
00:41a knife, shoplifting, you can be expected through a new sentencing order to get a minimum of
00:49three months mandatory detention in a secure facility.
00:54This is evidence based policy.
00:58It's not the soft option, it's the smart option.
01:01Making sure our youth that have all those risk factors like alcohol, drugs, carrying a knife
01:09knife, are detained and sentenced in a mandatory youth facility to get the rehabilitation they
01:18need.
01:20All the evidence shows intense rehabilitation focused around a structured day like school
01:2924-7, alcohol and drug treatment 24-7 is the way to turn young lives around.
01:36We want to be very clear here that if you are on the trajectory of committing crime like carrying
01:44a knife or looking to steal cars, you can expect to be detained and then you can expect to be
01:52put in this new mandatory detention rehabilitation facility in Malmesbury.
01:58We are committed to this.
01:59We have seen how when you have a minimum sentence of three months up to 12 months, where you break
02:07the cycle, it can turn young lives around.
02:10I'm going to ask Paul Edbrook to say a few comments now and we'll come back to some questions.
02:22Thank you Premier, we've been very clear, serious youth offenders belong in jail and that's
02:28why we introduce adult time for violent crime, to make sure the worst offenders face those
02:35consequences for their actions.
02:36And it's working, we're seeing more jail, less bail.
02:40Youth crime is down, it is working, but we know that there's more to do.
02:47For those offenders who aren't violent offenders, but their crimes carry that mid to low range
02:55of offending, there is an area I think where our community expects them to be taken off the street
03:02and to be locked up. And this provides judges another tool in their toolbox. If they're not
03:09going to give a custodial sentence in a prison for a young offender who may have a chance at getting
03:16their life on track, this gives the judge an option of a mandatory youth rehabilitation detention.
03:25Which means between three and 12 months in Malmesbury, in a different setting in Malmesbury,
03:32where we can have youth offenders being part of education seven days a week,
03:38having rehabilitation if there's alcohol and other drug issues, learning life skills,
03:44that we know a lot of these youth offenders don't have. They don't have stable at home histories.
03:52They don't have the support network around them. So this mandatory rehabilitation detention
03:58is an option for judges that while we're taking people off the street for, as the Premier said,
04:04those crimes that might be related to theft, stealing a car, having possession of a prohibited weapon,
04:14they're not going to be sentenced to a jail term. They have the option to turn their lives around by
04:20being part of a program that takes them off the streets and keeps our community safe while at the
04:26same time giving people that chance to take their their lives off that trajectory that takes them into
04:33crime. This is about a balance where we're being tough but fair and we're giving the community the
04:40satisfaction and the confidence knowing they're safe while being able to turn other people's lives
04:45around. This has worked in other jurisdictions, Scotland, Japan, Finland. We know this works,
04:51we know it has runs on the board and I look forward to seeing this work for young people in
04:58Victoria.
05:02This will be for first offences. This will be for anyone caught out there carrying a knife,
05:13underage driving, all those middle to lower offences you can expect to a be charged and then you can
05:22expect to be put into this mandatory secure facility from three months to 12 months to address all those
05:31risk factors that you have and give you that option to turn your life around. This will be legislation
05:38that is passed before Christmas. This will be up and running in the first half of next year.
05:43We want to make sure that we stop crime in its tracks, that we literally get these young offenders
05:50off the streets and give them that compulsory intensive rehabilitation that they need to turn their lives
05:59around. No, they are kept overnight from a minimum of three months. Ryan, all the evidence shows you
06:13the cycling in and out of detention, community corrections orders, they have their place. What
06:27they have been held in a secure mandated facility for a minimum of three months to address those risk
06:34factors, whether it be alcohol, whether it be drugs, whether it be violence and knife crime. That intense
06:41rehabilitation, that is how you turn these lives around. It's proven young people in other jurisdictions,
06:49in Finland, in Scotland, that have been held in a secure mandated rehabilitation facility for a minimum
06:59period of three months, have been shown to turn their lives around. This is proven and we will deliver
07:14it. Heidi, I'll go straight to that. So Heidi, all the evidence shows sometimes the family is the number
07:21one cause of their risk factors and you need to make sure that these young people get a minimum time
07:30in a
07:31secure facility to turn their lives around. They can still have family visits, but we are making sure
07:3824-7 that they are monitored, that the interventions are there and they turn their lives around. This is
07:46well, Malmesbury is the facility we have up and running that we can make some modifications to
07:52and get this going as soon as possible in 2027.
07:56So just to confirm, is it compulsory or mandatory for kids found guilty of certain offenses? Yes. Or is it
08:02an
08:02option for the judges in their sentencing? Look, it will be an option, but once the judge makes this
08:08mandatory sentencing order, it will be mandatory. This is where they will go for that middle level
08:15offending. They will go there, if they've been caught through carrying a knife, through our stop and search
08:22powers that we'll introduce at the end of this year, if they have been found to be underage
08:28driving, this will be an option. Rather than a community corrections order or a full corrections
08:34order, this will be that gap that we address in the middle, where we give compulsory, intensive,
08:41in a secure facility, mandated rehabilitation for these youth offenders.
08:48Well, yeah, but it's the middle gap. So you've got your low level offenders that can often just be
08:54put on a community corrections order, but the judge may say, you know, I've seen you, I know what your
09:00risk factors are, you've got alcohol, you've got mental health, you've got drugs, you're prone to
09:05violence. This is the sentence you're getting, a mandatory therapeutic rehabilitation order to give you
09:14all the intensive support you need to turn your life around.
09:17If you said shoplifting was one of those low level offences, should we rule out a kit going
09:21three months in line, should we just go in the bag and loads?
09:23Well, that's a matter for the courts, but Ryan, we've got to be very clear here.
09:29Stealing a bag of lollies could then lead to something else. We want to make sure that these young
09:33people get the intervention and support that they need. What is leading them to stealing? What is
09:41leading them to carrying a knife? That's why having this tool in the toolkit for our judges is needed.
09:48It's over time and it's why I'll deliver it.
09:54Well, you've had a party like Justice Bowles. We've had a lot of people go to overseas jurisdictions.
10:04I myself have been to Scotland. I myself have been to the Harlem Children's Zone.
10:12But we're the legislators and I know this is another piece in the toolkit for our judges to have.
10:22This is addressing that cohort of middle to low level offending before it becomes serious offending.
10:29This is really important law reform and really important reform for our youth justice system.
10:35Who's going to run those classes? Will it be trained counselors? Will it be teachers? Will it be justice specialists?
10:40It'll be a mixture, Ryan. So there'll be mental health, drug and alcohol specialists, teachers,
10:50rehabilitation psychologists, all of those people that we know can get to the heart of the matter with young
10:56people. So this will be an investment. It's a $204 million investment to support some 500 youth over the next
11:06two years.
11:11So it'll be something we will work through with the courts, but we want to make sure that we tackle
11:18youth early and that we do everything we can to support those youth offenders.
11:24Well, I think it needs to be a real focus on the teenagers and making sure we address the crime.
11:31Malmesbury has been a facility that's been very good addressing teenage crime.
11:37Parkville's for those younger kids and obviously Cherry Crook's for the older kids.
11:40So really getting that teenage youth cohort, the intensive rehabilitation in a secure facility that they need.
11:49No, I'm firm. We have the settings right and I'm firm that we need to be tough on crime and
12:00equally tough on the causes of crime.
12:05So we've invested significant millions of dollars in Malmesbury. I've been there on many occasions
12:12and we will now make sure that we have the right facilities that address alcohol and drug treatment
12:19support that address the young offending. We'll make sure though there's some modifications that will
12:27be needed to ensure that Malmesbury is a more holistic facility for this younger cohort.
12:36Attorney General's out working, I presume, in her community.
12:40No, she supports. Yep. Yep. Yep.
12:54Heidi, I made it very clear when I became Premier that community safety was paramount. It was
13:02Saint-Crescent. I phoned the Chief Commissioner and everyone who knows me knows I'm a tough on crime
13:09Premier. I will do whatever it takes. I'll give the police more powers, more resources to put PSOs where
13:16they need to be. I'll build a second police academy to get more police through quicker. I will deliver
13:23these stop and search powers to get more knives off our streets. And today I'm announcing I will deliver
13:29a new mandated secure facility to give youth the intensive rehabilitation they need.
13:39I'll let the opposition leader explain her priorities when it comes to major events.
13:47What I can say I'm in favour of is getting the NFL back here for 2027.
13:55I like all sports, particularly those mass participation sports like the NFL. I'll let the
14:01opposition leader explain her major events calendar. My major events will be the NFL,
14:10the Cardia exhibition, the Neil Diamond show, all those great things that make Melbourne so special.
14:17Are you shutting down any ideas of the UFC coming to Melbourne for your re-election?
14:21No. Ryan, like I said, you need to ask the opposition leader.
14:25Well, we are asking her today. I just want to know what you think.
14:27Oh, it's here. It's here. It's an event. But my focus is on getting the NFL back in 2027.
14:35Do you believe the opposition's $40 million major event fund is enough to be intended?
14:39No. Look, Jess Wilson and the Liberal Party, none of their costings add up. Every day
14:46there's another story on how none of their costings add up. Every day another economist reputable comes
14:53out to say the Liberal leader has promised the world to everyone and can't deliver. Every day
14:59we're seeing that. And every day we know cutting $40 billion will hurt frontline workers like nurses
15:06and teachers. And that's why I'm out there focused on making sure we do what we need to do to
15:13run a
15:13sustainable budget, make common sense savings like the SRL, and do what we need to do to make sure
15:19Victoria is financially strong and secure. Last question.
15:23In the setting of the delivery cyclists, a lot of the people who are here at the 31st June for
15:32that
15:32has been expressed a lot of frustration with the current state of the food delivery industry in Melbourne
15:39and across, I guess, major cities in Australia more broadly, is the government? Or should the government
15:44do anything to crack down and regulate that industry, given it can be quite exploitive of
15:47bonkers Victorians, put them in harm's way, often towards the way women wage?
15:51Yeah. Look, I'll address that, Ryan, in two ways. First and foremost, can I say my heart goes out to
15:58Mr Fang and his family. Friday night, Friday night, I was in Box Hill with our beloved Chinese community,
16:07and I was talking to them at length, excuse me, I was talking to our beloved Chinese community at
16:13length in Box Hill on Friday, on the importance of community safety. That as Premier, I will ensure
16:21and do everything I can with the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, no matter where you work,
16:26no matter where you shop, no matter where you live, that you are safe. I was with Chinese community
16:31leaders on Friday night, I spoke to Chinese community leaders on Saturday to express my heartfelt
16:37condolences and support for Mr Fang's family and travelling to Melbourne. And we'll do whatever we
16:44can. I'm very pleased to see someone is in custody and justice will be done. To your second point, Ryan,
16:52it goes to the heart of the gig economy and some of the work we are doing with the Transport
16:57Workers'
16:58Union and other areas. We do know that often people in the gig economy, particularly that are doing the
17:06transit deliveries, are some of the most vulnerable Victorians and they do need proper protections in
17:12place and workplace safety. I'll continue to work with the Transport Workers' Union and other unions and
17:19representatives involved in the gig economy. It was one of the reasons in my first week as Premier,
17:24I introduced workplace protection orders to make sure that whether you are in the transport sector,
17:31more recently the health sector, you get all the protections you need, particularly if it is
17:37someone that's known to law enforcement. This is a different set of circumstances, but I will work
17:43more broadly with the sector to make any changes that we think are necessary. Thank you very much.
17:47Thanks, everyone.