No Bail for Knife Offenders, Victorian Opposition Leader Proposes

‘I think the biggest challenge is ... the government weakened these laws and won’t return them to the position they were in 2023,’ Brad Battin said.

Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin speaks to the media at Victorian Parliament in Melbourne, Australia, on May 20, 2025. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Liberal Opposition leader Brad Battin is pushing for tougher bail laws after yet more stabbings and violent incidents in Melbourne.

A 19-year-old was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being allegedly stabbed in a suspected machete brawl at Broadmeadows.

“I think the biggest challenge is not just that it’s taken so long, it’s actually that the government weakened these laws and won’t return them to the position they were in 2023,” Battin said on Nine.

“And since then, that’s when we’ve seen the crime increase ... We’ve had 25 to 30 victims under the age of 25 who have died in the knife crisis down in Victoria and the government continue to have their head in the sand and won’t answer the real questions of fixing the bail system, bringing in something like break bail face jail, and ensuring we have violent offenders off the street.”

Battin said the Opposition would tighten the laws to ensure judges do not have the option to give offenders bail, protecting communities by keeping offenders on remand rather than releasing them.

On Oct. 27, a family was allegedly targeted in a home invasion in Clyde for the fifth time.

Video footage showed a family of six fighting off an armed group wearing masks, with one individual carrying a knife. The family had to step on broken glass while they tried to defend their property.

“When you are getting hit five times in a community down in Clyde, that is a scary time,” Battin said.

In another incident, a man was charged on Oct. 28 following an alleged firearms incident in Albion.

The 40-year-old was charged with making threats to kill, possessing ammunition and possessing a drug of dependence. However, police said the firearm was an imitation.

Premier Confident Machete Situation Will Improve

In Victoria, it is now illegal to buy, own and sell a machete. Residents are able to hand over a machete to police without a penalty until Nov. 30.

Premier Jacinta Allan expressed confidence the situation would improve once this grace period ended.

“The machete ban is here and it’s staying. When the amnesty concludes, in a few weeks’ time, there will be severe penalties for anyone found carrying a machete,” Allan told reporters.

She also defended her government’s bail laws in a recent interview.

“The changes we’ve made to toughen the bail settings requires all bail decision makers across the justice system to put community safety first, and it remains my expectation that all bail decision makers comply with that requirement under the legislation that has been set,” she told reporters on Oct. 24.

New Shadow Assistant Ministry

Meanwhile, Liberal Opposition leader Brad Battin and Nationals leader Danny O'Brien have announced a new, bigger shadow assistant minister team, headlined by positions tackling crime prevention.

Renee Heath takes on the position of shadow assistant minister for victims and crime prevention.

Trung Luu will serve as shadow assistant minister for police and shadow assistant minister for criminal justice reform.

“Together we will fight for a better Victoria. We will deliver less waste, lower taxes, and less crime,” Battin and O'Brien said on Oct. 27.

“Our shadow assistant ministers represent a range of experience, backgrounds, and expertise to complement our shadow cabinet.”

The majority of Liberal and Nationals members within the Victorian Opposition received a position, though former leader John Pesutto is among those to miss out.