The retail community has welcomed the Victorian government’s proposed ban on machetes, following a violent brawl in Melbourne’s Northland shopping centre.
Four males have been charged for a brawl between two rival gangs in the food court of the centre.
One man in his 20s, with upper-body injuries, was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition, while three others were treated for anxiety.
Premier Jacinta Allan announced that the sale of machetes would be banned from Wednesday, with a ban on machete possession to take effect from September.
The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA) welcomed this step, given the rising incidence of crime in retail spaces, including repeat offenders using dangerous weapons to threaten, intimidate and cause serious harm to the community.
“The incident at Northland shopping centre is a reminder about the harm and fear that dangerous weapons can cause, and such weapons have no place in public places,” said Angus Nardi, CEO of the SCCA.
Retail crime intelligence software company Auror recently released data that found knives and blades accounted for over 50 per cent of all weapon-related crime in retail settings last year.
It found the use of such weapons had increased by over 40 per cent within the last year.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and National Retail Association (NRA) have advocated for governments to implement measures to address this issue, including strengthening police search powers to remove such weapons from streets, using the Queensland Jack’s Knife legislation as a model.
The ARA has also welcomed the Victorian Government’s bid to introduce legislation implementing tougher penalties for those who abuse or assault retail workers.
The reform, to be introduced in Parliament this year, will see Victoria join SA, NSW, NT, and WA strengthen legislation to respond to increased customer aggression and assaults.
“We need governments to be proactive in their response to violent crime, especially when lives are in danger,” said ARA CEO Chris Rodwell.
“Businesses can’t continue to combat the impacts of growing retail crime on their own.
“Retailers across Australia are counting on states and territories to work in lockstep with one another to reduce these incidents which are having an enormous impact on worker wellbeing,” he said.
