Improvements to bail laws passed by State Parliament last week can’t come soon enough as crime rates soar across Gippsland.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland South, Danny O’Brien has expressed concern that the changes don’t go far enough to address the crime epidemic facing Gippsland.
“The State Labor Government weakened our bail laws and has been brought kicking and screaming to changing them again, but they have still not gone as far as the laws were previously,” Mr O’Brien said.
“Sadly, the changes sent a signal to many criminals, especially youth, that there would be no consequences for their actions and we have seen a youth crime wave as a result.
“Right here in Gippsland South there is a young boy who police tell me has been charged and bailed around 50 times.
“No-one wants to be locking up kids. But when you have got kids, whether they are 14 or 17½, who are repeatedly causing trouble in the community and committing crimes – serious crimes like carjackings and aggravated burglary, coming into a house with a machete or a knife or a baseball bat and stealing people’s vehicles, going on joy rides and the like – that has to have some consequences.
“These changes simply do not go far enough to stop the crime wave that the Allan Labor Government started when it weakened our bail laws to begin with.”
Mr O’Brien highlighted that crime data released late last week showed the number of criminal incidents reported in the three local government areas that make up Gippsland South was continuing to rise.
“Wellington Shire rose 17.5 per cent in 2024 while there was a 6.3 per cent increase in South Gippsland and 11.6 per cent in Latrobe.
“We are particularly seeing a huge increase in the number of youth offenders and it doesn’t take a genius to recognise the correlation with these numbers and our weakened bail laws.”