Source : Perth Now news
Victorians are set to be stopped and searched for knives in public across the state at the discretion of police, with the major parties aligning on laws pioneered by Queensland.
Ben Carroll, who declared he was not Jacinta Allan after taking over as Victorian premier, has continued to change course with a stunning policy reversal on Wednesday.
Mr Carroll has vowed to implement “Jack’s Law” by early 2027 if Labor is re-elected in November for a historic fourth straight term.
Queensland introduced the law after the fatal stabbing of teenager Jack Beasley during a night out on the Gold Coast in 2019, with NSW passing similar legislation in 2024.
The Queensland-modelled Victorian laws would allow police to use a handheld metal detector to “wand” people anywhere in public without a warrant, with an extra 1200 of the devices promised to do the job.
“My priority is community safety – and stop and search powers for knives is the new direction I’m delivering,” Mr Carroll said.
“I stand with parents like Brett and Belinda (Beasley), just like I stand with all Victorians who have had their lives destroyed by violence.”
His government pointed to figures released by the Queensland Liberal-National government on Friday showing 1439 weapons were seized from scanning 198,469 people since July 2025.
Experts who reviewed the Queensland laws have acknowledged they may detect more weapons, but argued there was no evidence of reduced violent crime and there was a risk of racial profiling.
The Victorian Labor government was opposed to Jack’s Law under the former premier, relying on the current system of police designating areas for up to six months to randomly search for weapons.
But it now concedes the process had limits and believes the designated areas were in jeopardy following a Federal Court challenge.
A six-month declaration of Melbourne’s CBD and neighbouring suburbs, made by Victoria Police on November 30, was lifted on January 9 amid the legal challenge.
Justice Elizabeth Bennett later ruled the order was invalid as Police Assistant Commissioner Brett Curran misunderstood the statutory test he had to apply before making the declaration.
In 2025, then opposition leader Brad Battin committed to introducing Jack’s Law if the coalition won the state election.
The policy doesn’t explicitly appear within the coalition’s latest community safety plan but current Liberal leader Jess Wilson has previously backed it.
The Nationals, meanwhile, officially launched a plan for regional Victoria on Tuesday night in Bendigo.
The plan promises the regions at least 25 per cent of all new government infrastructure spending.
