A much-anticipated bail review has been fast-tracked as a state attorney-general stares down calls for her to pick between tackling the crime or the housing crises.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan tasked Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny and Police Minister Anthony Carbines with reviewing criminal justice settings, including bail, in early February.
She set the pair a three-month deadline but on March 6 the attorney-general foreshadowed the review’s release was imminent.
“It will be very, very, very soon,” she told reporters at state parliament.
Crime statistics agency figures show residential aggravated burglaries—home invasions where the occupants are present or the offender is armed—have doubled in Victoria over the past decade.
In the 12 months to September 2015, there were 2576 private dwelling home invasions compared to 6390 in the year to September 2024.
Related Stories
Victoria Police confirmed 688 offenders were arrested 1642 times last year in connection to aggravated burglaries where at least one car was stolen.
Some 65.4 percent of the arrests were of children aged between 10 and 17.
Kilkenny fronted media for the first time since the bashing of a security guard by a gang of youths in Bendigo on March 3 and high-profile home invasion in Black Rock on March 4.
The state opposition has branded her a “part-time” minister, given she leads the planning portfolio and was focused on a housing announcement blitz last week.
Kilkenny must pick between the roles or resign entirely, Opposition Leader Brad Battin said.
“We have a crime crisis in our state and we have a housing crisis in our state, and the same minister is in charge of both,” he said.
“She has to make a decision.”
Kilkenny said crime was “one of the biggest issues” confronting the state and rejected criticism she didn’t have the bandwidth to be Victoria’s first law officer and planning minister at the same time.
“I reject your premise that I’m unable to do that work,” she said.
“This (crime) is an absolute priority for me, it’s an absolute priority for this government, for our premier, that we have in place laws that make communities feel safe.
“And that where anyone endangers that right to feel safe in your home or at your work, that they feel the full consequences.”
A 15-year-old who allegedly stole a Mercedes in a Brighton home invasion last month and led police on a chase at speeds up to 240km/h was bailed despite a magistrate noting the community was “totally over” the behaviour.
Kilkenny refused to comment on the circumstances of the case but expressed her “full confidence” in the courts.
Battin suggested fast-tracking the review would not reassure the community as the government was not facing up to the courts being bound by its previous changes to bail laws.
“This is 100 percent the Labor government’s fault and now they’re now they’re expecting us to believe they’re the ones to fix it,” he said.
Acting Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent met with the premier and Carbines at parliament on March 6.
A government spokeswoman would not confirm whether the meeting centred on the review.
