Dan Andrews rubbishes Bec Judd’s claim that she ‘feels unsafe’ in her $7.3million mansion
The Victorian Premier has told Bec Judd that her violent crime fears in her posh bayside suburbs don’t hold water.
Daniel Andrews has hit back at Rebecca Judd after she slammed his government for not doing enough to combat a spate of “rapes, bashings and home invasions” in her posh suburb of Melbourne.
The Victorian premier rubbished the AFL WAG’s complaint that she felt unsafe in her $7.3 million mansion in the Bayside local government area in an Instagram post on Thursday.
Judd claimed the Victorian state government didn’t “seem to care” or be doing anything about violent crime in the Bayside area, which includes the well to do suburbs of Beaumaris and Brighton.
“I’m not interested in having an argument with Ms Judd,” Mr Andrews said on Sunday.
“I’m also obliged to point out though, I think there are more than 70 additional police in the Bayside area, and the most recent crime statistics released by an independent agency would not support those sweeping assessments about patterns of crime.”
Mr Andrews said Ms Judd “may have missed” May’s state Budget which included the deployment of more than 500 additional police officers and 50 protective services officers.
“I say this respectfully to Bec Judd, or anybody – I don’t want anybody to feel unsafe,” he said.
“I’m sorry she feels that way. The data would tell a different story, but it is about personal feelings and your sense of safety.
“I hope that knowing those things, or perhaps learning those things, puts her mind at ease.”
The businesswoman and mum of four wrote on social media that she “personally know(s) 2 women who have experienced home invasions in Brighton in the last few weeks while they were at home” and that residents “feel unsafe”.
In response to a 7News story about the escalating situation, Judd also commented on the Instagram page of Liberal state MP James Newbury who has been highlighting crime concerns.
“Have these teens been charged yet or just another slap on the wrist?” she wrote.
Judd and her AFL star husband Chris Judd bought their mansion in Brighton for $7.3m four years ago and documented its Spanish-style renovation on social media, the Herald Sun reports.
Mr Newbury also came to Ms Judd’s defence following Mr Andrew’s response to her criticisms, and labelled it a form of “victim blaming”.
“How dare Daniel Andrews attack a woman because she feels unsafe – what a creep,” he told the Herald Sun.
“His behaviour sounds a lot like victim blaming.
“There have been three home invasions in Brighton this week, a police shooting, and many more home invasions in local streets over recent months.”
Mr Newbury said residents and particularly women were increasingly scared and some are even starting to take matters into their own hands.
“I can tell you absolutely (Judd’s) sentiment is the same sentiment that I am getting from women across the electorate today,’’ he said.
“I am now aware of a number of people who are hiring private security,” he said.
“I also know of people now leaving keys next to the front door so that if they are home invaded they’re not fought.”
Earlier, Mr Newbury said closing the Brighton police station several years ago had also instilled fear.
“We’ve got basically a front desk in Sandringham and if there’s a crime they have to come from Moorabbin,’’ he said.
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