We need a police summit on knife crime. Oh, yes, we've already had one
We need cops who police youth gangs, PSOs at railway stations, police who patrol in divisional vans and station bosses to share their practical experiences, because it is only through knowing the problem that we can deal with it.
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Well, that is precisely what happened in December 2022. The result? Zip-a-dee-doo-dah.
At the summit, police discussed South Australian weapons prohibition orders (WPOs). They are similar to our firearm prohibition orders.
In SA, if a person has been convicted of a weapons-related offence and the police commissioner reasonably believes the person is a danger to life or property, they are hit with a three-year WPO.
Police can 'detain and search a person who the police officer reasonably suspects is a person to whom a weapons prohibition order applies for prohibited weapons ... stop, detain and search a vehicle, vessel or aircraft [connected to the suspect] ... enter and search premises for prohibited weapons'.
Wouldn't it make more sense to target those convicted of using or carrying weapons rather than waiting to try to break up knife fights?
In NSW, they have drug supply prohibition orders to stop and search anyone convicted of selling drugs. Police can search their car or any property associated with them.
Another suggestion at the police knife conference that has disappeared under the waves like Moby Dick was to beef up the force's semi-secret VPMAC (Victoria Police Monitor Assessment Centre). It is used to follow trends to get in front of the game – such as the movements of a home-invading gang.
It can also watch social media as the gangs talk online and often organise their fights on the internet. More funds mean more staff and a greater chance of cutting off the gangs before they cut each other.
But there are no more funds, with the police budget to be cut.
Increasingly, states across Australia are introducing Jack's Law – a powerful weapon for police that came into existence because of a tragedy.
When Brett and Belinda Beasley lost their 17-year-old son Jack to a knife attack in Surfers Paradise in December 2019, they were determined to use his death to reform laws.
After dozens of rounds of lobbying, they persuaded the Queensland government to trial Jack's Law.
In Surfers Paradise, police trialled hand-held wands to randomly search people for edged weapons. The initiative has now been expanded to all public places in Queensland.
Since it began, police have conducted more than 100,000 scans, with more than 2800 people charged and 1058 weapons seized.
Brett Beasley says: 'I have been trying to help Victoria, but your premier won't listen. She won't meet with me.
'We have met with Victoria Police, and they absolutely love Jack's Law. It has been passed with bipartisan support in Queensland, NSW, WA and Tasmania, but for some reason we can't get it over the line in Victoria.
'It is no different to a random breath test. You are not even touched by the wand, and it doesn't even touch you. It has been phenomenally successful.'
In Victoria, MCC members going to the footy are wand-searched in case they have a concealed cheese knife for the charcuterie board, but a gang member on a railway station is not checked for a myki card, let alone a machete.
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Rule No.2 Reform comes in three steps: need, will and action.
In the area of violent crime there is a need, there is even the political will, but too often the action is diluted when the legislation is written.
Take Jack's Law. Victim input, police support plus political will equals an effective law. So why not here?
One reason is the Justice Department is a cordial factory in which the concentrate is diluted to suit the tastebuds of those with a particular agenda.
When cops showed some in the Justice Department CCTV of a fatal knife attack, it resulted in a complaint the images were too graphic. I imagine the victim would agree. If he wasn't already dead.
In the two-year tobacco war there have been 141 arson attacks and seven homicides.
Under laws to be introduced later this year, we will have a tobacco regulatory body (costing $65 million) with about 10 unarmed enforcement officers to police 1300 tobacco shops selling illegal products. It is like sending a platoon of lollipop ladies with stop-go signs to take on the Roman legions.
Gangster Kaz Hamad orders hits from Iraq and is making $1 million a month just from the protection side of his business. Will he be deterred by a stern letter from an enforcement officer?
Illegal cigarettes are about $15 a packet compared with about $40 a packet for the legal ones. Government taxes have created the market, people like Hamad are just exploiting it.
Meanwhile, the government's anti-bikie laws will be toughened later this year with the Criminal Organisations Control Amendment Act 2024.
The laws are designed to stop outlaw bikies wearing and displaying their colours, which are often used to intimidate. A noble idea, but will it work?
Police Minister Anthony Carbines is talking tough: ' Organised crime groups and bikie gangs are on notice – we won't stand for intimidation and neither will Victoria Police, who won't hesitate to use these new laws to keep Victorians safe.'
Police wanted the law to reflect interstate legislation, under which wearing banned bikie colours is an indictable offence. Yet in Victoria it will be a summary offence.
This means as long as the suspect provides his name and address, he will not be arrested but will receive a summons in the post.
Under the law, a police officer may direct a person to stop displaying bikie insignia. Police on the road believe a bikie will simply need to turn their jacket inside out, which means they will be displaying the logos 'Made in Thailand' and 'Dry clean only'.
The law excludes tattoos, but what about temporary tattoos or body art? Will police lick the biceps of bikies to see if tattoos are permanent? Or will it be a case of not giving a rat's about tatts and don't create a stink about ink?
Police are preparing dossiers on outlaw motorcycle gangs to have them declared organised crime groups. In Queensland, there are 26.
In Victoria, the top seven are likely to be the Hells Angels, Mongols, Rebels, Finks, Comancheros, Black Uhlans and Bandidos.
History shows the gangs that are not mentioned feel miffed and often ring police to complain. In that business if you are bad, you want to be bad to the bone.
Rule No.3 Laws alone don't change behaviour.
It is an offence to sell a knife to a person under the age of 18, with proof of age required.
It comes as no surprise that the average blade-wielding offender may be more inclined to steal a knife than provide a name, address, three forms of identification and a Frequent Flyer number at the checkout. Anything above a butter knife should be kept in a locked cabinet so it can't be shoplifted.
What is indefensible is the lack of appetite for a logical, rational and cool-headed review of crime.
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When then-deputy commissioner Ross Guenther told this column last year that the criminal justice system needed to embrace reform, the government lost both its marbles and the bag they came in.
He said: 'The system is not suited for victims or offenders. Why do self-interest groups and self-described experts have so much sway over issues that impact the whole community? Do we adequately respond to the needs of victims?'
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43 minutes ago
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The Advertiser
3 hours ago
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The controversial changes the Greens will push on housing reform
When South Australian Greens senator Barbara Pocock walks through the stately Adelaide Park Lands that circle the CBD, she sees the human impacts of Australia's housing crisis. "The evidence is in front of our eyes," the newly appointed housing spokesperson for the Greens said of the rough sleepers and those who have pitched tents in the city. Once accessible, Adelaide is now second to Sydney as the most unaffordable city in Australia, and the sixth least affordable in the world, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report. But for Senator Pocock, the city of churches and her home state also has the model for housing abundance for the rest of Australia and how to get out of this crisis. 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"Well if we can do it on relegation, we can do it in relation to a public discussion and federal leadership on rent caps." As well as the housing portfolio, Senator Pocock retains her public service and employment roles. After the 2022 election, Labor came to power with ambitious reform programs in both areas: rebuilding the APS and introducing a raft of industrial relations changes after the Jobs and Skills Summit. This time around, Labor has been quieter on both fronts, signalling it believes the size of the public service is "about right" and mainly extending existing savings measures in consultancy spending and non-wage expenses. While in industrial relations, Labor has initially focused on protecting existing penalty rates. But Senator Pocock said she would be pushing for Labor to increase its ambition in both areas. 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It saw Australians vote for work from home, not for everybody, not all the time, but it certainly was a vote to say our workplaces have changed. Our lives have changed, and workplace relations law needs to reflect that better." When South Australian Greens senator Barbara Pocock walks through the stately Adelaide Park Lands that circle the CBD, she sees the human impacts of Australia's housing crisis. "The evidence is in front of our eyes," the newly appointed housing spokesperson for the Greens said of the rough sleepers and those who have pitched tents in the city. Once accessible, Adelaide is now second to Sydney as the most unaffordable city in Australia, and the sixth least affordable in the world, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report. But for Senator Pocock, the city of churches and her home state also has the model for housing abundance for the rest of Australia and how to get out of this crisis. In an interview with The Canberra Times, the first since the election, the former academic economist pointed to the model of housing development seen in Whyalla and north of Adelaide, providing worker housing to the steelworks and the homes for those who built Commodores and Monaros at the Holden factory in Elizabeth. In doing so, Senator Pocock acknowledges the collaboration of two former premiers at the opposing ends of the political spectrum. "I think Thomas Playford and Don Dunstan would be rolling in their collective graves at what we are seeing here now; the crisis in South Australia, where we are as a country, a city and a state that led on public investment in housing, and we are now right at the back of the pack with unaffordable housing." Citing two politicians working across the aisle on housing highlights where the federal housing agenda has become most challenging. There was no love lost between the Greens' former housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather and the Prime Minister, with the first-term MP decrying Parliament after the election as a "sick place", while Anthony Albanese said the Queensland MP's conduct was "offensive". There is a different dynamic in the Senate, and Senator Pocock and Labor senator Deborah O'Neill worked together during the inquiries into PricewaterhouseCoopers, the duo a fearsome pair for corporate executives who wilted under parliamentary scrutiny. But it has also been clear when the pair disagreed, with Senator Pocock submitting additional comments that went beyond the committee's recommendations of the first PwC inquiry. Taking this approach into the contested waters of housing, Senator Pocock highlights working with former Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke on the right to disconnect, which she said was an evidence-based reform that depended upon cross-party agreement. "I'm hoping that evidence will be relevant as we look at change in the housing sector, and I expect to be in vigorous discussion with Labor on that front." Senator Pocock says the Greens have three priorities on housing. First, a cap on rent and increased security for tenants. Second, removing tax incentives for investors, including negative gearing and capital gains tax. Third, investing in public housing, but with a focus on quality, as well as quantity. These could put the parties on a collision course, with Labor previously ruling out changes to rent caps, as well as negative gearing and capital gains tax. Labor Housing Minister Clare O'Neil identified cutting red tape in the housing and construction sector, as a way for Labor to meet its ambitious 1.2 million homes target. Senator Pocock acknowledges that regulatory reform is part of the solution, but said this does not address the core of the issue. "I'm concerned that the regulation conversation is used as a smoke screen and distraction from the fundamentals which we need to change in relation to housing, and that is building more public housing, fixing the tax breaks and dealing with rent with rent caps," Senator Pocock said. In a post-election interview, Mr Chandler-Mather explained how the Greens and Labor came to an agreement on housing, despite their parties being intractably opposed publicly. "We made it very clear to Labor's Housing Minister in the negotiating room that we were willing to make concessions, and that we would settle for additional public housing funds." Senator Pocock said she was open to negotiation with Minister O'Neil. "[Minister O'Neil] said last week that she was keen to work with states and local government, with all the powers of persuasion and the many tools and levers available to the federal government in relation to housing, and she wanted to use those tools around regulation. "Well if we can do it on relegation, we can do it in relation to a public discussion and federal leadership on rent caps." As well as the housing portfolio, Senator Pocock retains her public service and employment roles. After the 2022 election, Labor came to power with ambitious reform programs in both areas: rebuilding the APS and introducing a raft of industrial relations changes after the Jobs and Skills Summit. This time around, Labor has been quieter on both fronts, signalling it believes the size of the public service is "about right" and mainly extending existing savings measures in consultancy spending and non-wage expenses. While in industrial relations, Labor has initially focused on protecting existing penalty rates. But Senator Pocock said she would be pushing for Labor to increase its ambition in both areas. In the public service, Senator Pocock said there was still work to do to respond to the revelations of the robodebt royal commission, including instituting merit-based appointments at the highest levels in the public sector to tackle issues of culture and leadership. Another challenge the public service is yet to fully grapple with, Senator Pocock says, is the adoption of artificial intelligence. Senator Pocock said there were positives from the technology, but questions about risks. "We did a small inquiry in relation to the federal public sector and AI late last year, and it just surfaced that we aren't governing it. We don't know its reach." On workplace reform, Senator Pocock said the Treasurer's productivity agenda shouldn't stop at tax and regulatory reform, but also look at whether workers were receiving the benefit of productivity gains. "I think the election saw Australians vote for a more flexible workplace. It saw Australians vote for work from home, not for everybody, not all the time, but it certainly was a vote to say our workplaces have changed. Our lives have changed, and workplace relations law needs to reflect that better." When South Australian Greens senator Barbara Pocock walks through the stately Adelaide Park Lands that circle the CBD, she sees the human impacts of Australia's housing crisis. "The evidence is in front of our eyes," the newly appointed housing spokesperson for the Greens said of the rough sleepers and those who have pitched tents in the city. Once accessible, Adelaide is now second to Sydney as the most unaffordable city in Australia, and the sixth least affordable in the world, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report. But for Senator Pocock, the city of churches and her home state also has the model for housing abundance for the rest of Australia and how to get out of this crisis. In an interview with The Canberra Times, the first since the election, the former academic economist pointed to the model of housing development seen in Whyalla and north of Adelaide, providing worker housing to the steelworks and the homes for those who built Commodores and Monaros at the Holden factory in Elizabeth. In doing so, Senator Pocock acknowledges the collaboration of two former premiers at the opposing ends of the political spectrum. "I think Thomas Playford and Don Dunstan would be rolling in their collective graves at what we are seeing here now; the crisis in South Australia, where we are as a country, a city and a state that led on public investment in housing, and we are now right at the back of the pack with unaffordable housing." Citing two politicians working across the aisle on housing highlights where the federal housing agenda has become most challenging. There was no love lost between the Greens' former housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather and the Prime Minister, with the first-term MP decrying Parliament after the election as a "sick place", while Anthony Albanese said the Queensland MP's conduct was "offensive". There is a different dynamic in the Senate, and Senator Pocock and Labor senator Deborah O'Neill worked together during the inquiries into PricewaterhouseCoopers, the duo a fearsome pair for corporate executives who wilted under parliamentary scrutiny. But it has also been clear when the pair disagreed, with Senator Pocock submitting additional comments that went beyond the committee's recommendations of the first PwC inquiry. Taking this approach into the contested waters of housing, Senator Pocock highlights working with former Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke on the right to disconnect, which she said was an evidence-based reform that depended upon cross-party agreement. "I'm hoping that evidence will be relevant as we look at change in the housing sector, and I expect to be in vigorous discussion with Labor on that front." Senator Pocock says the Greens have three priorities on housing. First, a cap on rent and increased security for tenants. Second, removing tax incentives for investors, including negative gearing and capital gains tax. Third, investing in public housing, but with a focus on quality, as well as quantity. These could put the parties on a collision course, with Labor previously ruling out changes to rent caps, as well as negative gearing and capital gains tax. Labor Housing Minister Clare O'Neil identified cutting red tape in the housing and construction sector, as a way for Labor to meet its ambitious 1.2 million homes target. Senator Pocock acknowledges that regulatory reform is part of the solution, but said this does not address the core of the issue. "I'm concerned that the regulation conversation is used as a smoke screen and distraction from the fundamentals which we need to change in relation to housing, and that is building more public housing, fixing the tax breaks and dealing with rent with rent caps," Senator Pocock said. In a post-election interview, Mr Chandler-Mather explained how the Greens and Labor came to an agreement on housing, despite their parties being intractably opposed publicly. "We made it very clear to Labor's Housing Minister in the negotiating room that we were willing to make concessions, and that we would settle for additional public housing funds." Senator Pocock said she was open to negotiation with Minister O'Neil. "[Minister O'Neil] said last week that she was keen to work with states and local government, with all the powers of persuasion and the many tools and levers available to the federal government in relation to housing, and she wanted to use those tools around regulation. "Well if we can do it on relegation, we can do it in relation to a public discussion and federal leadership on rent caps." As well as the housing portfolio, Senator Pocock retains her public service and employment roles. After the 2022 election, Labor came to power with ambitious reform programs in both areas: rebuilding the APS and introducing a raft of industrial relations changes after the Jobs and Skills Summit. This time around, Labor has been quieter on both fronts, signalling it believes the size of the public service is "about right" and mainly extending existing savings measures in consultancy spending and non-wage expenses. While in industrial relations, Labor has initially focused on protecting existing penalty rates. But Senator Pocock said she would be pushing for Labor to increase its ambition in both areas. In the public service, Senator Pocock said there was still work to do to respond to the revelations of the robodebt royal commission, including instituting merit-based appointments at the highest levels in the public sector to tackle issues of culture and leadership. Another challenge the public service is yet to fully grapple with, Senator Pocock says, is the adoption of artificial intelligence. Senator Pocock said there were positives from the technology, but questions about risks. "We did a small inquiry in relation to the federal public sector and AI late last year, and it just surfaced that we aren't governing it. We don't know its reach." On workplace reform, Senator Pocock said the Treasurer's productivity agenda shouldn't stop at tax and regulatory reform, but also look at whether workers were receiving the benefit of productivity gains. "I think the election saw Australians vote for a more flexible workplace. It saw Australians vote for work from home, not for everybody, not all the time, but it certainly was a vote to say our workplaces have changed. Our lives have changed, and workplace relations law needs to reflect that better." When South Australian Greens senator Barbara Pocock walks through the stately Adelaide Park Lands that circle the CBD, she sees the human impacts of Australia's housing crisis. "The evidence is in front of our eyes," the newly appointed housing spokesperson for the Greens said of the rough sleepers and those who have pitched tents in the city. Once accessible, Adelaide is now second to Sydney as the most unaffordable city in Australia, and the sixth least affordable in the world, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability report. But for Senator Pocock, the city of churches and her home state also has the model for housing abundance for the rest of Australia and how to get out of this crisis. In an interview with The Canberra Times, the first since the election, the former academic economist pointed to the model of housing development seen in Whyalla and north of Adelaide, providing worker housing to the steelworks and the homes for those who built Commodores and Monaros at the Holden factory in Elizabeth. In doing so, Senator Pocock acknowledges the collaboration of two former premiers at the opposing ends of the political spectrum. "I think Thomas Playford and Don Dunstan would be rolling in their collective graves at what we are seeing here now; the crisis in South Australia, where we are as a country, a city and a state that led on public investment in housing, and we are now right at the back of the pack with unaffordable housing." Citing two politicians working across the aisle on housing highlights where the federal housing agenda has become most challenging. There was no love lost between the Greens' former housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather and the Prime Minister, with the first-term MP decrying Parliament after the election as a "sick place", while Anthony Albanese said the Queensland MP's conduct was "offensive". There is a different dynamic in the Senate, and Senator Pocock and Labor senator Deborah O'Neill worked together during the inquiries into PricewaterhouseCoopers, the duo a fearsome pair for corporate executives who wilted under parliamentary scrutiny. But it has also been clear when the pair disagreed, with Senator Pocock submitting additional comments that went beyond the committee's recommendations of the first PwC inquiry. Taking this approach into the contested waters of housing, Senator Pocock highlights working with former Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke on the right to disconnect, which she said was an evidence-based reform that depended upon cross-party agreement. "I'm hoping that evidence will be relevant as we look at change in the housing sector, and I expect to be in vigorous discussion with Labor on that front." Senator Pocock says the Greens have three priorities on housing. First, a cap on rent and increased security for tenants. Second, removing tax incentives for investors, including negative gearing and capital gains tax. Third, investing in public housing, but with a focus on quality, as well as quantity. These could put the parties on a collision course, with Labor previously ruling out changes to rent caps, as well as negative gearing and capital gains tax. Labor Housing Minister Clare O'Neil identified cutting red tape in the housing and construction sector, as a way for Labor to meet its ambitious 1.2 million homes target. Senator Pocock acknowledges that regulatory reform is part of the solution, but said this does not address the core of the issue. "I'm concerned that the regulation conversation is used as a smoke screen and distraction from the fundamentals which we need to change in relation to housing, and that is building more public housing, fixing the tax breaks and dealing with rent with rent caps," Senator Pocock said. In a post-election interview, Mr Chandler-Mather explained how the Greens and Labor came to an agreement on housing, despite their parties being intractably opposed publicly. "We made it very clear to Labor's Housing Minister in the negotiating room that we were willing to make concessions, and that we would settle for additional public housing funds." Senator Pocock said she was open to negotiation with Minister O'Neil. "[Minister O'Neil] said last week that she was keen to work with states and local government, with all the powers of persuasion and the many tools and levers available to the federal government in relation to housing, and she wanted to use those tools around regulation. "Well if we can do it on relegation, we can do it in relation to a public discussion and federal leadership on rent caps." As well as the housing portfolio, Senator Pocock retains her public service and employment roles. After the 2022 election, Labor came to power with ambitious reform programs in both areas: rebuilding the APS and introducing a raft of industrial relations changes after the Jobs and Skills Summit. This time around, Labor has been quieter on both fronts, signalling it believes the size of the public service is "about right" and mainly extending existing savings measures in consultancy spending and non-wage expenses. While in industrial relations, Labor has initially focused on protecting existing penalty rates. But Senator Pocock said she would be pushing for Labor to increase its ambition in both areas. In the public service, Senator Pocock said there was still work to do to respond to the revelations of the robodebt royal commission, including instituting merit-based appointments at the highest levels in the public sector to tackle issues of culture and leadership. Another challenge the public service is yet to fully grapple with, Senator Pocock says, is the adoption of artificial intelligence. Senator Pocock said there were positives from the technology, but questions about risks. "We did a small inquiry in relation to the federal public sector and AI late last year, and it just surfaced that we aren't governing it. We don't know its reach." On workplace reform, Senator Pocock said the Treasurer's productivity agenda shouldn't stop at tax and regulatory reform, but also look at whether workers were receiving the benefit of productivity gains. "I think the election saw Australians vote for a more flexible workplace. It saw Australians vote for work from home, not for everybody, not all the time, but it certainly was a vote to say our workplaces have changed. Our lives have changed, and workplace relations law needs to reflect that better."
Sydney Morning Herald
19 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Lucky to know her': Friends mourn Noble Park woman after death from ‘suspicious' injuries
A Noble Park woman who died in hospital from serious injuries after being reported missing has been remembered by friends as a gentle, selfless woman who took care of the people around her. July Neira, 64, was spotted by friends with an unknown man outside her home in Marna Court in Noble Park on June 7. Her neighbour was unable to get in touch with her for a week, and reported her missing to police on June 14. The 64-year-old Chilean-born woman was located in Dandenong Hospital on Monday with injuries consistent with being seriously assaulted, police said in a statement. Officers were able to speak to Neira before she died in hospital on Friday. A Victoria Police spokeswoman said while the circumstances of how she received the injuries were unknown, the Noble Park woman's death was being treated as suspicious. 'I'm absolutely shocked that someone could do something like that,' her friend Suzanne told Nine News. 'She's been beaten and attacked. She's only about five feet two inches [157cm], a tiny little thing. 'She was a beautiful soul who did not deserve to die like that.'
