Five women murdered. What is wrong with Melbourne?

It’s not normal in Australia for five women in six years to have been raped and killed by strangers. Victoria must follow NSW and fix the problems making their streets unsafe, writes Miranda Devine.

The terrifying rape and murder of yet another young woman in Melbourne by a stranger is cause to doubt Victoria’s police force, parole decisions, legal system or mental health services.

It is not an excuse to blame all men for the evil of a few aberrant predators.

Yet, shockingly, in the wake of the murder last week of 21-year-old Israeli student Aiia Maasarwe as she walked home alone from the tram after a night out with friends, the focus is not on how best to keep women safe from predators in the future.

Instead, Victorian Premier “Red Dan” Andrews jumped on the “toxic masculinity” bandwagon to avoid his government’s responsibility for the breakdown in law and order which has created an unsafe environment for women in Melbourne.

“She should have been safe here,” he tweeted.

“Nothing will change until we change, too. Until we stop blaming ‘bad men’ — while ignoring the sexist attitudes in our society that created them.”

But nothing will change until we change, too. Until we stop blaming 'bad men' – while ignoring the sexist attitudes in our society that created them.

— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) January 18, 2019

As if a few Gillette ads or gender equity programs are going to stop predators from raping and murdering strangers on the street.

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The only thing that stops “bad men” from harming us is effective law and order, and that is something that Andrews has been incapable of delivering. All he is good at is spin.

He managed to bluster his way through an election campaign by pretending that parts of Melbourne have not been suffering South African-style violent home invasions, carjackings and armed robberies.

But clearly there is something wrong in Melbourne. It is not normal in Australia for five women in six years to have been raped and murdered by strangers on the street.

The police seem to make swift arrests afterwards but is that good police work or just the fact that these people have been walking around under their noses with impunity rather than being taken off the streets?

Murdered student Aiia Maasarwe has been remembered in community vigils. Picture: Jason Edwards

In 2012, Radio producer Jill Meagher was raped and murdered by convicted rapist Adrian Bayley, while walking home late one night along a busy road.

In 2014, 32-year-old Chinese national Renea Lau was on her way to work when she was beaten and raped by 43-year-old homeless schizophrenic Scott Miller. He had been ejected from a bar at 5.30am when he spotted her as she walked along the well-lit St Kilda Road to Flinders Street station.

Justice Betty King when sentencing Miller said that women walk around Melbourne often alone: “They feel safe, they are comforted knowing and believing that this is safe and civilised society in which they live,” she said.

No one would say the same today about Melbourne.

Jill Meagher was murdered in 2012 by convicted rapist Adrian Bayley, while walking home late one night along a busy road. Picture: AFP Photo

A year later, 17-year-old schoolgirl Masa Vukotic was stabbed to death by convicted rapist Sean Price who, inexplicably, was out on bail.

Last year, 22-year-old comedian Eurydice Dixon, was raped and murdered as she walked home through a park by 19-year-old Jaymes Todd, whose lawyer pleaded leniency due to his autism spectrum disorder.

Five women in six years.

This is not happening in Sydney, and it’s because our police and courts are doing their jobs. There is not an atmosphere of lawlessness on our streets that gives predators a licence to kill.

You just have to compare Sydney to Melbourne in the handling of so-called African crime gangs which have been terrorising Melbourne in recent years.

The rape and murder of Eurydice Dixon last year horrified people around the country. Picture: Supplied

Sydney cops currently are dealing effectively, swiftly and transparently with a crime outbreak in Blacktown in which a gang of African juveniles calling themselves the BMF” (Black Mutha F.....) have mugged five people over two weeks.

“These are serious alleged crimes and officers from North West Police Transport Command have acted swiftly to identify the group and put a stop to these incidents,” Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb said. “This sort of behaviour won’t be tolerated by the public or by police.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe as they travel on public transport and anti-social and criminal behaviour will be targeted by the officers patrolling the network,” she said.

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No feminist virtue signalling there. We have the same ethnic demographics as Melbourne but not the intractable crime problems.

Nipping crime in the bud and informing the public honestly about potential threat, is the way to enforce the law and reduce crime.

Bravo to NSW Police who continue to keep us safe with record low crime rates.

Victoria should take the lesson from NSW.

Whether it’s cops, courts, parole, mental health, fix it instead of playing politically correct games.