All We Could Do Was Listen to Screams: Ex-Mayor Recounts 45 Minutes Trapped During Northland Machete Brawl

A former Melbourne mayor says the council needs a management plan for gang violence.

A Victoria Police car and signage at the following a machete brawl between youth gangs at the Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia on May 26, 2025. AAP Image/Joel Carrett

The former mayor of Darebin City Council, Lina Messina, was hiding in a backroom of the Northland Shopping Centre during the now-infamous youth gang machete brawl that made national headlines.

“It was absolutely terrifying. My first thoughts were, ‘Are my daughter and grandchildren here as well?’” she told The Epoch Times.