Machetes, long feared as a deadly weapon in the south east, are now banned in Victoria with tough penalties kicking in this month.
Anyone caught owning, carrying, using, buying or selling a machete without a valid exemption or approval, now faces up to two years imprisonment or a fine over $47,000.
Exemptions apply for specific use, including for agricultural workers who use machetes as part of their job and for machetes that have a genuine traditional, historical, or cultural significance.
As part of the crackdown, more than 40 safe disposal bins are now available 24/7 at police stations across Victoria, including Pakenham, Dandenong and Cranbourne.
The amnesty runs from 1 September to 30 November, giving people a chance to surrender machetes anonymously.
Department of Justice and Community spokesperson said the bins will be “collected on a routine basis” and will be “transported securely” to a centralised sorting facility.
“The deposited items will be sorted and catalogued, after which they will be completely destroyed,” spokesperson said.
Minister for Consumer Affairs Nick Staikos praised the Machete Taskforce for being “diligent and effective in drying up in-store and online machete sales in Victoria through proactive monitoring of the market, physical inspections and responding to tip-offs”.
Minister for Police Anthony Carbines warned the machetes are banned in Victoria and anyone carrying one will face “tough consequences”.
In a statement Premier Jacinta Allan reassured everyone that the machete ban builds on Labor’s “tough” laws to “crack down” on repeat serious offenders and knife crime.
But locals are not convinced. Pakenham resident Ewan Nicholls was assaulted twice – one involving three teenagers armed with a knife.
“I very much doubt the surrender of machetes will have any impact at all on their unlawful possession,” Nicholls said.
“It’s not the machetes, it’s the consequences that need addressing. Penalise the offending first.”
Berwick resident Paul Smith criticised the government’s delay in addressing the rising crime.
”It is an absolutely disgraceful reflection on this government that this has taken so long to implement, and they had to wait for yet another attack to actually bring it forward”.
Leader of the Opposition MP Brad Battin warned that “criminals don’t listen to this weak Labor Government”.
For Battin, “the most disturbing part of this fiasco is that Victorians have been unnecessarily exposed to risk and potential harm while businesses have been subjected to ongoing aggravated thefts by people armed with machetes”.
The Opposition and locals worry the machete bins come at the expense of police resourcing and further burden on ratepayers.
“Victorians are paying $20 million a day just to cover the interest on Labor’s debt — that’s money that could be spent hiring more police,” Battin said.
Battin said “there is only one way to measure the success or failure of the new machete laws and that is whether there are less crimes, less assaults and less injuries”.
“The number of weapons surrendered is immaterial if people are still being assaulted in their homes and on our streets,” he said.
“We need to change the existing culture from ’anything goes’ to ’consequences for your actions’”.
Some locals fear the ban could even backfire. Berwick resident James McCathie warned “criminals generally have a disregard for the law. If they want to hurt people, they will find a way”.
“Every time the government bans something, they expand the product range of the black market and attract a new group of consumers. The machete ban will be no different.”
