Machete ban enforcers slow to hit beat after mall brawl

The Advertiser

7 days ago

An Australian-first ban on machete sales has sliced into action but enforcement officers are yet to hit the streets.
Shoppers and workers ran for their lives when a wild fight broke out between machete-wielding rival gangs at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north on Sunday.
The scare prompted Victoria to implement an exemption-less ban on the sale of machetes from midday on Wednesday.
A task force of 14 people has been deployed to enforce the retail prohibition but its members won't hit the streets until Thursday.
"They will be in the field tomorrow," Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos told reporters on Wednesday.
The formal ban notice features photos of six machetes as examples of banned items.
It does not include a minimum length despite the government previously referring to machetes as being at least 20cm long.
Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said the ban notice covered anything an "ordinary person" would understand to be a machete.
"If you're in any doubt about whether a product is or isn't, it probably is a machete and I think you'd be safe to remove it from sale," she said.
Some shops could be handed warnings for inadvertent breaches instead of facing civil or criminal penalties, but the regulator will deal with them on a case-by-case basis.
Mr Staikos ruled out a buy-back scheme to compensate retailers for machetes that can no longer be sold, or to encourage crooks to hand in the dangerous blades.
The interim sales ban can only be enacted for 90 days under commonwealth consumer laws, meaning it will expire five days before a full ban on possession and three-month amnesty period takes effect from September 1.
Mr Staikos said he was in discussions with the federal government to extend the ban to cover the gap.
Premier Jacinta Allan signalled the amnesty period could begin earlier if locked disposal boxes at 40 police stations are ready before the deadline.
"If Victoria Police come to us and indicate that the arrangements have been put in place in that way, my door will always be open to any measure that strengthens community safety," she said.
Victorian bail laws were tightened in April to respond to surging youth crime, aggravated burglaries and car thefts.
The shopping centre incident has raised questions about their effectiveness after it was revealed at least four people charged over it were already out on bail.
The final arrest was made on Tuesday night, with an 18-year-old Thornhill Park man since charged with affray and weapons offences.
Other arrests made by police this week include an 18-year-old man from Derrimut and a 21-year-old man from Kew, who suffered head injuries during the clash.
Police also arrested and charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, from Darebin and Melton, and two men, aged 20, and 21, from Thornbury and Bundoora. All were already on bail.
An Australian-first ban on machete sales has sliced into action but enforcement officers are yet to hit the streets.
Shoppers and workers ran for their lives when a wild fight broke out between machete-wielding rival gangs at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north on Sunday.
The scare prompted Victoria to implement an exemption-less ban on the sale of machetes from midday on Wednesday.
A task force of 14 people has been deployed to enforce the retail prohibition but its members won't hit the streets until Thursday.
"They will be in the field tomorrow," Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos told reporters on Wednesday.
The formal ban notice features photos of six machetes as examples of banned items.
It does not include a minimum length despite the government previously referring to machetes as being at least 20cm long.
Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said the ban notice covered anything an "ordinary person" would understand to be a machete.
"If you're in any doubt about whether a product is or isn't, it probably is a machete and I think you'd be safe to remove it from sale," she said.
Some shops could be handed warnings for inadvertent breaches instead of facing civil or criminal penalties, but the regulator will deal with them on a case-by-case basis.
Mr Staikos ruled out a buy-back scheme to compensate retailers for machetes that can no longer be sold, or to encourage crooks to hand in the dangerous blades.
The interim sales ban can only be enacted for 90 days under commonwealth consumer laws, meaning it will expire five days before a full ban on possession and three-month amnesty period takes effect from September 1.
Mr Staikos said he was in discussions with the federal government to extend the ban to cover the gap.
Premier Jacinta Allan signalled the amnesty period could begin earlier if locked disposal boxes at 40 police stations are ready before the deadline.
"If Victoria Police come to us and indicate that the arrangements have been put in place in that way, my door will always be open to any measure that strengthens community safety," she said.
Victorian bail laws were tightened in April to respond to surging youth crime, aggravated burglaries and car thefts.
The shopping centre incident has raised questions about their effectiveness after it was revealed at least four people charged over it were already out on bail.
The final arrest was made on Tuesday night, with an 18-year-old Thornhill Park man since charged with affray and weapons offences.
Other arrests made by police this week include an 18-year-old man from Derrimut and a 21-year-old man from Kew, who suffered head injuries during the clash.
Police also arrested and charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, from Darebin and Melton, and two men, aged 20, and 21, from Thornbury and Bundoora. All were already on bail.
An Australian-first ban on machete sales has sliced into action but enforcement officers are yet to hit the streets.
Shoppers and workers ran for their lives when a wild fight broke out between machete-wielding rival gangs at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north on Sunday.
The scare prompted Victoria to implement an exemption-less ban on the sale of machetes from midday on Wednesday.
A task force of 14 people has been deployed to enforce the retail prohibition but its members won't hit the streets until Thursday.
"They will be in the field tomorrow," Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos told reporters on Wednesday.
The formal ban notice features photos of six machetes as examples of banned items.
It does not include a minimum length despite the government previously referring to machetes as being at least 20cm long.
Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said the ban notice covered anything an "ordinary person" would understand to be a machete.
"If you're in any doubt about whether a product is or isn't, it probably is a machete and I think you'd be safe to remove it from sale," she said.
Some shops could be handed warnings for inadvertent breaches instead of facing civil or criminal penalties, but the regulator will deal with them on a case-by-case basis.
Mr Staikos ruled out a buy-back scheme to compensate retailers for machetes that can no longer be sold, or to encourage crooks to hand in the dangerous blades.
The interim sales ban can only be enacted for 90 days under commonwealth consumer laws, meaning it will expire five days before a full ban on possession and three-month amnesty period takes effect from September 1.
Mr Staikos said he was in discussions with the federal government to extend the ban to cover the gap.
Premier Jacinta Allan signalled the amnesty period could begin earlier if locked disposal boxes at 40 police stations are ready before the deadline.
"If Victoria Police come to us and indicate that the arrangements have been put in place in that way, my door will always be open to any measure that strengthens community safety," she said.
Victorian bail laws were tightened in April to respond to surging youth crime, aggravated burglaries and car thefts.
The shopping centre incident has raised questions about their effectiveness after it was revealed at least four people charged over it were already out on bail.
The final arrest was made on Tuesday night, with an 18-year-old Thornhill Park man since charged with affray and weapons offences.
Other arrests made by police this week include an 18-year-old man from Derrimut and a 21-year-old man from Kew, who suffered head injuries during the clash.
Police also arrested and charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, from Darebin and Melton, and two men, aged 20, and 21, from Thornbury and Bundoora. All were already on bail.
An Australian-first ban on machete sales has sliced into action but enforcement officers are yet to hit the streets.
Shoppers and workers ran for their lives when a wild fight broke out between machete-wielding rival gangs at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north on Sunday.
The scare prompted Victoria to implement an exemption-less ban on the sale of machetes from midday on Wednesday.
A task force of 14 people has been deployed to enforce the retail prohibition but its members won't hit the streets until Thursday.
"They will be in the field tomorrow," Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos told reporters on Wednesday.
The formal ban notice features photos of six machetes as examples of banned items.
It does not include a minimum length despite the government previously referring to machetes as being at least 20cm long.
Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said the ban notice covered anything an "ordinary person" would understand to be a machete.
"If you're in any doubt about whether a product is or isn't, it probably is a machete and I think you'd be safe to remove it from sale," she said.
Some shops could be handed warnings for inadvertent breaches instead of facing civil or criminal penalties, but the regulator will deal with them on a case-by-case basis.
Mr Staikos ruled out a buy-back scheme to compensate retailers for machetes that can no longer be sold, or to encourage crooks to hand in the dangerous blades.
The interim sales ban can only be enacted for 90 days under commonwealth consumer laws, meaning it will expire five days before a full ban on possession and three-month amnesty period takes effect from September 1.
Mr Staikos said he was in discussions with the federal government to extend the ban to cover the gap.
Premier Jacinta Allan signalled the amnesty period could begin earlier if locked disposal boxes at 40 police stations are ready before the deadline.
"If Victoria Police come to us and indicate that the arrangements have been put in place in that way, my door will always be open to any measure that strengthens community safety," she said.
Victorian bail laws were tightened in April to respond to surging youth crime, aggravated burglaries and car thefts.
The shopping centre incident has raised questions about their effectiveness after it was revealed at least four people charged over it were already out on bail.
The final arrest was made on Tuesday night, with an 18-year-old Thornhill Park man since charged with affray and weapons offences.
Other arrests made by police this week include an 18-year-old man from Derrimut and a 21-year-old man from Kew, who suffered head injuries during the clash.
Police also arrested and charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, from Darebin and Melton, and two men, aged 20, and 21, from Thornbury and Bundoora. All were already on bail.