Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sometimes, when you live in the electorate of La Trobe and you are being targeted by this crime wave and the Apex gang, you think that it was only happening to us. I was reading the other day in the crime figures released in the Herald Sun, that in suburbs such as Berwick one in five burglaries—and I think Berwick had over 250—end up with the occupants being violently assaulted by the burglars. I quote from the Herald Sun today:

After a series of terrifying home invasions and youth justice riots, Galaxy research conducted exclusively for the Herald Sun shows 68 per cent of voters polled believe authorities are losing the battle against Apex.

And in a direct warning to the Andrews Government, 64 per cent believe it is not doing enough to tackle youth crime and 44 per cent think the state is less safe today than at the 2014 state election.

This is a clear indication that crime is a huge concern in La Trobe, and in Melbourne as well. While we are talking numbers, let us have a look at the crime data in La Trobe. We know that recent data puts theft at the top of the list in Berwick. Coming second are breaches of orders and crimes against the person, which are neck and neck. This also carries through to suburbs such as Narre Warren, and I have previously spoken to the House about areas such as Beaconsfield and, sadly, it is actually going up into the Dandenong Ranges.

These numbers do not lie, but if you are not the kind of person who likes data, all you need to do is listen to the anecdotes in the community. Last week a very long-term business and stalwart of Berwick, Drysdale's Berwick Village Jewellery, was ram raided in the middle of the night. I viewed the footage firsthand where a ute—obviously stolen—reversed and took out the front windows and the two thieves smashed up the shop and stole thousands of dollars worth of jewellery. This obviously terrified the owners, but it also sends another message, which is that we are losing control of crime. It is very sad.

I am chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, and we have set the following terms of reference for the most recent inquiry, which is into migrant settlement outcomes:

The Joint Standing Committee on Migration shall inquire into and report on migrant settlement outcomes with reference to:

• the mix, coordination and extent of settlement services available and the effectiveness of these services in promoting better settlement outcomes for migrants;

• national and international best practice strategies for improving migrant settlement outcomes and prospects;

• the importance of English language ability on a migrant's, or prospective migrant's, settlement outcome;

• whether current migration processes adequately assess a prospective migrant's settlement prospects; and

• any other related matter.

The Committee shall give particular consideration to social engagement of youth migrants, including involvement of youth migrants in anti-social behavior such as gang activity, and the adequacy of the Migration Act 1958 character test provisions as a means to address issues arising from this behavior.

I would like to take this opportunity and encourage individuals or organisations to make submissions to the inquiry as soon as possible. Submissions are open until 31 January 2017. The committee did take a while to come to agreement on the terms of reference. I thank all the committee members and the secretariat.

I have argued for a while now that we need a federal approach to looking at this migrant gang issue. It started with the Apex gang—a Sudanese based gang in Melbourne. They got their name from Apex Street in Dandenong. It has been an effective gang, because other gangs have morphed into this one, and they are committing exceptionally violent offences. In my day in the police force having a police car rammed was unheard of. At the moment, in Melbourne, there are two rammings of police cars a week. If you compare the crime figures from Victoria and New South Wales, New South Wales has a greater population, yet our crime figures are growing dramatically. Enough is enough. We will look at what is going on. If the state Labor government in Victoria does not take matters seriously at a federal level, we will definitely look into this.

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