The sale of machetes will now be banned in Victoria, a day after a heated brawl between “rival groups” plunged a Melbourne shopping centre into lockdown and left at least one man hospitalised with serious injuries. A ban on possession, and an amnesty period to surrender any machetes, is expected later this year.
The new sales rules will be swiftly brought into effect from midday on Wednesday, with Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan noting these knives are dangerous weapons that “have no place on our streets anywhere”.
The ban uses commonwealth consumer laws, which allow a state minister to introduce an interim ban on the sale of certain goods.
“In Victoria, community safety comes first. We must never let places we meet become places we fear,” she said in a statement on Monday.
“I hate these knives, and I will keep introducing as many laws as it takes to get them off our streets, out of our shops and out of our lives.”
The government defines a machete as a cutting edge knife with a blade of more than 20 centimetres. It does not include knives primarily used in kitchens.
From Wednesday, retailers in Victoria must not supply the banned item for sale or possess them with the intent to sell. Those who do stock them are being advised to store it in a safe location until they can be disposed of safely.
This nation-first ban follows previous legislation passed earlier this year that would outlaw the sale along with the possession of machetes in Victoria from September. But the interim ban on selling these knives has been implemented after violent incidents of the past weekend, and will expire when it is superseded by the legislation from September.
Under the change, machetes will be classified as a prohibited weapon from September 1, 2025.
Allan defended her government’s decision not to bring forward the possession ban and three-month amnesty period.
As for the total ban later this year, the Victorian government clarified there will be exceptions for some purposes, like agriculture, although individuals will need to apply for an exemption.
The amnesty will run from September 1 to November 30, when people can safety dispose of their knives at secure bins at select police stations.
Consumer Affairs Minister Nick Staikos said a task force would be established to check compliance and penalties could include fines of over $200,000 and prison time, as reported by 9News.
Less than a day earlier, a violent brawl unfolded between almost a dozen people in Melbourne’s Northland Shopping Centre on Sunday, some armed with machetes and knives.
Superintendent Kelly Lawson confirmed the attack was not random and that the rival gangs had arranged a meeting at the centre’s food court before the fight erupted.
“It is said to have been an act of retaliation,” she said.
She added there were no firearms involved, despite some initial reports.
“It was a chaotic scene,” she said.
“It’s really frightening for members of the public to go through this.”
Police had on Sunday evening arrested at least two people, including the 15-year-old, while one man in his 20s was hospitalised with serious upper-body injuries.
On Monday, police charged a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old with multiple offences including affray, intentionally cause injury, possess controlled weapon and use controlled weapon.
Two other males, one with injuries, have self-presented to the hospital.
“The community shouldn’t have to deal with these weapons in their shopping centres. Neither should our police,” Premier Allan said.
Lead image: AAP
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