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

  It is time for the National Anti-Gangs Squad to take on the new gang which many of you may have heard of—that is, the Apex gang, based in Melbourne. Founded in an average suburban street in Dandenong, the violent Apex street gang has no clubhouse, no colours and no real structure. It makes it very hard for police to target. Just last week, the gang was linked to aggravated burglaries. They have been involved in car thefts, riots and assaults.    Police officers have also been targeted, as there is no respect for the police. But on Saturday night they went to a new extreme, where they thought it was a great idea to storm Melbourne's Moomba Festival.

Back in 2010, I developed the National Violent Gangs Squad policy for precisely this reason. This policy was based on what happens overseas, where the US and UK authorities have both local and federal agencies working together. I highly recommend that the Australian government, with the state government, divert the resources, or add to the resources, to ensure that the Apex gang is now targeted by the National Anti-Gangs Squad. They are causing absolute fear in the streets of Melbourne. How dare they think they rule the streets of Melbourne? How dare they have no respect for authority? How dare they destroy the good time families were planning to have on Saturday night in Melbourne? It is time to act, and it is time to act now.