Machetes flood into state as online giants flout Allan government ban

The Allan government’s machete sale ban is failing to stop dangerous knives flooding into Victoria from online sales, with sellers shipping the lethal blades for as little as $30.

The Allan government’s machete sale ban is failing to stop dangerous knives flooding into the state from online sales.

Despite it becoming illegal for retailers to sell machetes in Victoria, vendors are already flouting the ban and filling dozens of shoppers’ online carts with the weapon.

The Sunday Herald Sun has placed successful orders for large knives, at least 20cm in length from the world’s largest online stores – eBay and Amazon – every day since the statewide ban came into effect at noon on Wednesday.

Several independent Australian businesses, including camping stores based in Victoria and interstate, also readily confirmed they would ship long blades to a Melbourne address on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, Friday and Saturday – for as little as $30 and with free express shipping.

A government spokesman told the Sunday Herald Sun brands would introduce geoblocking – restricting a user’s access to a site based on their location – to stop Victorians from accessing web pages that allow people to buy the blades.

Dangerous machetes are continuing to flood into the state from online sales.

At one point, eBay claimed 90 other users had placed the same machete model sold by a single vendor into their online shopping carts.

eBay was among businesses that were in talks this week with the government about their obligations to stop Victorians buying machetes from online sellers.

But Amazon and eBay processed orders placed by the Sunday Herald Sun throughout the week without third-party vendors requesting proof of age or an address outside Victoria.

An eBay Australia spokeswoman said the third-party marketplace was not responsible for knives and machetes being listed on its site, but it had taken steps to restrict Victorians buying blades.

“We have reviewed our policies and controls following the announcement of the interim ban and have taken steps to ­restrict Victorians from purchasing machetes,” she said.

“We have communicated with both sellers and buyers on the changes and will continue to engage with Consumer ­Affairs Victoria on the ban.”

Machetes are still widely available online.

She said businesses and consumers were frustrated there was no national approach in the works to control the sale of machetes. While the advice to brick-and-mortar ­retailers was to stash their stock away until secure drop-off bins were installed at police stations, some Melbourne stores defied the ban from the outset. Some offered the lethal blades, for as little as $5.

One business flogged three knives for a total of $17.70.

Major retailers such as BCF and Anaconda pulled ­machetes from their shelves and off their websites.

Consumer Affairs Victoria launched its 14-person taskforce on Thursday to enforce the crackdown, which also applies to online machete sales.

Individual retailers are risking a $2.5m fine by stocking the knives, and companies can be hit with up to $50m in fines.

The task force can hand $750 on-the-spot fines to individuals and $5000 to companies.

The government on Wednesday said the interim ban aimed to “dry up” the supply of the weapons ahead of the permanent ban to come into effect in September that will make it illegal to own or sell a machete.

Premier Jacinta Allan rushed to announce the interim ban after confronting footage circulated of a gang fight at Northland shopping centre where machete-wielding youths met for a planned fight.