WHAT a week to have a chance lunch meeting with the Minister for Corrections and Youth Justice, on the very day that Victoria’s latest crime statistics were released.
It just so happens that minister, Enver Erdogan, is part of the Parliamentary Friends of Italy, of which I co-chair.
We had a meeting on Thursday, so I seized the opportunity to remind him of the request I had made more than a year ago to visit Mildura and meet with key agencies.
Data released this week shows that recorded offences in Mildura have surged by 8.2 percent for the year ending March 2024.
The crime rate continues to rise, yet my repeated calls, echoed by the shadow minister Brad Battin who visited Mildura earlier this year, for adequate resourcing continue to fall on deaf ears.
Of particular concern is the 25.61 per cent increase in criminal offences committed by 10 to 17 year olds in the past year within the Mildura local government area.
This surge underscores the escalating youth crime crisis that demands immediate action.
Labor’s recent decisions to weaken bail laws, cut nearly $20 million from the courts in this year’s budget, and slash funding for diversion and prevention programs do not address the core issues of the youth crime crisis.
After years of denying the problem, the Government has finally acknowledged that Victoria has a crime problem.
However, their response is misguided, insufficient and far too late, only now implementing a key recommendation of the Armytage-Ogloff report into youth justice from 2017.
Seven years to implement!
Meanwhile, regional families are feeling less and less safe in their own homes because of Labor’s inability to face facts.
I have a very good relationship with our local police, and they do a tremendous job of keeping our community safe, but they are critically under resourced, with around 1000 vacancies for frontline officers statewide.
Most won’t say publicly, but the frustration lies in doing the work on the streets from multiple angles, only to not have it backed up in the court system.
You can understand why our police sometime feel like they’re going around in circles.
It’s important to also acknowledge those police efforts extend beyond enforcement; they conduct youth outreach programs, collaborate with local services, and work tirelessly to support at risk & disengaged youth.
These initiatives are crucial for crime prevention.
The local ancillary services, agencies & organisations such as Hands Up Mallee, Sunraysia Community Health & Homebase, along with Clontarf and Koori Stars who are doing the work, getting the outcomes.
Their work in engagement and support for at-risk young people is vital for addressing the root causes of crime and building a safer future for Mildura.
However, these groups are grossly underfunded and do not have the security and stability of ongoing funding.
Imagine what these organisations could really achieve if they had ongoing, block funding, flexible enough to deliver community led outcomes, not just programs.
Again, a little bit of common sense has to surely prevail at some point, so let’s see if we can get any out of the Minister, because thus far all anybody has heard is crickets.
