Victorian Labor government announces Australian-first machete ban

The Allan Labor government will move to outlaw machetes as it continues to crack down on youth crime.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has announced the government will propose an Australian-first ban on machetes as it continues to crack down on youth crime. Picture: Jason Edwards.

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The Victorian Allan Labor government will move to outlaw machetes in an Australian-first ban as it continues to crack down on youth crime.

Thursday’s announcement came one day after the government declared it would introduce the “toughest bail laws in Australia” in response to community pressure to tackle rising crime rates and children reoffending while on bail.

Under the proposed changes, subject to narrow exemptions, the sale and possession of machetes will be banned from September and police will have expanded powers to search for weapons without a warrant. Those caught with a machete will face fines of more than $47,000 or up to two years imprisonment.

There will be a three-month amnesty period until November 30 during which the newly prohibited weapons can be disposed of at select police stations.

Welcoming the crackdown was Victoria Police which seized about 15,000 edged weapons from the state’s streets in the past 12 months.

“In this state, we’ve seen an increased use of machetes over the past couple of years, and in particular this involves youth gangs, street fights, assaults, carjacking, aggravated burglaries and home invasions,” Victoria Police’s Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent said.

“The evidence is clear, we have far too many machetes in this state, and there are far too many incidents of their use. They need to be destroyed and they need to be taken off the streets.”

The Victorian government said it would write to the federal government and seek to work with other states and territories to explore a national ban on machetes and restrictions on their importation.

“We want to see these weapons being stopped from coming into the country in the first place,” Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said.

Opposition police spokesperson David Southwick criticised the government for not acting sooner and said the opposition had been pushing for a ban on the weapons for more than a year.

“Jacinta Allan has compromised the safety of all Victorians,” he said.