Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. More details are available on our website: https://www.familyfirstparty.org.au/
KEY FACTS:
• On the night of 31 May 2026, machetes were used in a violent incident at Selandra Rise Shopping Centre, Clyde North. The centre was shut down and cordoned off by police.
• On 27 May 2026 — the first anniversary of the Allan government’s machete ban — a teenager was stabbed in a brawl at Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribyrnong.
• Since the ban took effect, more than 40 public knife attacks have occurred in Victoria, resulting in four deaths.
• The Allan government spent $13 million on machete collection bins. Attacks have continued unabated.
• Family First policy: meaningful sentencing reform, expanded police powers, strict bail laws, and support for family stability as the foundation of crime prevention.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1 June 2026
Machetes In Another Melbourne Shopping Centre — Allan's Ban Is Still Failing Families
Three days after Family First warned that Jacinta Allan’s machete ban had failed, weapons including machetes were used in a violent incident at Selandra Rise Shopping Centre in Clyde North. Family First’s Jane Foreman says the Allan government has run out of excuses.
On Sunday night, Selandra Rise Shopping Centre in Clyde North was shut down and cordoned off by police after a violent incident in which machetes are believed to have been used. Witnesses reported blood on the floor. Families shopping on a Sunday evening were left to flee the chaos.
“Three days ago, I warned that the Allan government’s machete ban had failed — four dead, forty-plus attacks, $13 million wasted on bins. Now another Melbourne shopping centre is a crime scene. When does this government accept that Victorians deserve more than press conferences and collection bins?”
Victoria’s shopping centres — the places where families go — have become repeat scenes of machete violence under this government’s watch. From Highpoint to Clyde North, no community is immune. Family First’s position has not changed: symbolic bans do not fix the family breakdown and absence of consequences that drive youth violence.
Family First will:
- Deliver real sentencing consequences — end the revolving-door justice that lets violent repeat offenders walk free.
- Restore and expand police powers with targeted operations at transport hubs and shopping precincts where families gather.
- Enforce strict bail laws that keep dangerous offenders off our streets — not token reforms with loopholes big enough to drive a crime wave through.
- Invest in family stability — because repairing family breakdown must be part of every serious youth crime prevention strategy.
“Family First has a plan that actually works: real sentencing consequences, restored police powers, strict bail laws, and investment in family stability. The Allan government has a plan that clearly doesn’t: more bins.”
“Tougher sentences. Real police powers. Stronger families. Victorians deserve leaders with the will to fix this — not manage the headlines around it. Family First will deliver.”
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