Expedited machete ban has all the hallmarks of a Victorian premier in survival mode

Australia Broadcast Center

26-05-2025

It took a brawl between machete-wielding young people at a suburban shopping centre to speed up Victoria's ban of long-edged weapons — not some well-developed policy process from Premier Jacinta Allan's government.
It has all the hallmarks of a premier in survival mode, a government struggling to define and stick to its political narrative and a party still grappling with a law-and-order problem.
The shocking images of hundreds of Melburnians fleeing the Northland Shopping Centre in the city's north horrified the premier and sprung her team into action to come up with a swift and meaningful, response.
The fact the two teenagers alleged to be the main offenders were on bail at the time only added to Labor's pain.
An "announceable" was needed.
When the machete ban was flagged by the state earlier this year, an immediate ban was ruled out as too difficult to implement — it was too impractical.
Now Victorians are being asked to believe that this has somehow changed, and that a ban can be put in place within three days.
How will the state crack down on online sales? Machetes are readily available right now with the click of a button.
During Monday's press conference Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos said he would "clarify" how online sales would be policed.
Premier Allan said the sale ban would "choke" the supply of machetes until possession of the weapons becomes illegal later this year. The government will not budge on that timeline.
"We are doing it as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible,'' the premier said.
That, she said, was based on the advice of police.
A taskforce is now being hastily arranged to police the sale of the items for the next 90 days.
How will this work? The government is still unable to say what specific items are banned, other than items that are "around 20cms".
Amnesty bins need to be set up at police stations so people can surrender weapons.
The fear within government circles was that had it just stuck to its September timeline for machete bans, it would have infuriated an already cynical public.
In political circles up on Spring Street, there is debate about how big an issue crime is with voters.
The Coalition is convinced it's a top-two priority for Victorians alongside cost of living.
Opinion is more divided in Labor, but there is a consensus that it is a major distraction for the government.
In parts of Melbourne it is also doing damage to the brand.
The premier has certainly lent into being a tough cop on the beat with a big spending law and order budget and "the toughest bail laws" in the country.
Labor needs to neutralise the crime issue, and at the moment is reactive to pressure to act. But the focus on crime is starving the government of attention on its narrative.
And herein lies its problem.
What is Labor's political agenda under Jacinta Allan?
"When you're lacking a narrative, something will fill the void,'' one insider said.
The premier has continued from her predecessor Daniel Andrews's agenda of hard hats and high vis.
But the political climate has changed since Andrews stood down.
The budget is in a precarious position and the popularity of Allan's pet project, the Suburban Rail Loop, is up for debate among voters and her own caucus.
Andrews's tenure was not immune from crime crises, in response to youth crime issues it tried to send teens to adult prison. A policy that was ultimately shot down by the Supreme Court.
But Andrews was able to focus on other issues while dealing with crime. The opposition staked its 2018 campaign on law and order and got thumped.
But justice has gripped Premier Allan's government in a different way — crime is up and it's a third-term government.
Expediting the machete ban is a win for the opposition. It gets to keep talking about an issue it wants every debate to be focused on.
Banning machetes has been top of the opposition's to-do list for more than a year, including under the previous leadership of John Pesutto.
"Labor has only acted today because it had no choice. It's a decision born of political panic, not public safety,'' current leader Brad Battin said.
Another former leader — there's three in the party room of 32 — has been active on social media saying that he had warned people of the problem with youth crime in 2018.
"Violent youth crime was a huge problem. Labor ignored it,'' Matthew Guy said on Instagram.
"People believed them. It remains a huge and increasing problem today…''
The government stresses this not a political response, but a genuine response to community concerns about safety.
But the quick-fire response, in the face of negative headlines highlights a trend where the government is reactive to loud voices.
Government sources lament the lack of a proactive social policy agenda, and say there is little appetite for any reform.
Labor usually kicks goals when it comes to education, and it's important because one million Victorian kids go to school.
Instead, the government has withheld $2.4 billion needed to meet the full funding for Victorian schools under the Gonski model.
"We're called the Education State, well it's in name only,'' one frustrated MP said.
And just last week it quietly shelved plans for landmark poker machine reforms, the decision buried in the budget with pokies taxes forecast to rise not drop as in previous years.
It's symbolic, MPs say, of a government that spends too much time responding to crises and stakeholders, rather than its agenda.
Next year's state election shapes as an intriguing contest.
Labor is gunning for an historic fourth term, but is carrying three terms of baggage, yet is still well placed to win thanks to a big parliamentary majority.
It also has a proven campaign machine ready to go — as witnessed in the federal result.
Labor's opponents also have a litany of internal issues, poor campaign infrastructure and a lack of policy beyond law and order.
Two months ago, Liberal MPs were claiming that even "a drover's dog" would win the next election. Post-May 3 this analysis has disappeared, and some of the hubris halted.