Minister for Police and Emergency Services Bob Cameron announced a community partnership between the Western Bulldogs Football Club and the Department of Justice today during a press conference held at Whitten Oval.
“The Western Bulldogs have set a great example through developing a range of programs to help the people who share the community with the football club,” Mr Cameron said.
“Over the past 10 years, the club has helped to address a range of social issues through the development of a number of relationships with different sections of the community
“As part of the State Government’s Respect on the Streets strategy, the Knives Scar Lives campaign is contributing $20,000 to implement a knives education component within the community programs being run by the Western Bulldogs.”
Mr Cameron said recent research conducted by Victoria University showed that 70 per cent of young people surveyed in the western suburbs between the ages of 15 - 19 who carried a knife or weapon did so for self-defence and to feel safer.
“Unfortunately there are some people, particularly young people, who don’t feel safe and make the mistake of carrying a knife or other weapon in a bid to protect themselves,” he said.
“But carrying a knife or any other weapon for self defence is against the law and is, in fact, more likely to make a bad situation even worse.
Mr Cameron congratulated the Western Bulldogs for developing programs such as Fresh, which addresses school truancy through engaging young people who struggle with the education system and risk becoming disconnected from education and training altogether.
“I’m very pleased to announce Robert Murphy as the ambassador of this community partnership who will teach young people in the western suburbs about the risks and dangers of carrying a knife,” he said.
“Robert will be able to reach a large range of people through the strong relationships the Bulldogs have already fostered in a number of western suburbs neighbourhoods.”
Today’s community partnership announcement comes after Mr Cameron unveiled even tougher anti-knife laws this week that mean people caught with a knife or other weapon face a $1000 on-the-spot fine, which doubles if they are caught in, or around, pubs, clubs and bars.
“Victoria already had the toughest anti-knife laws in Australia, but we’ve made them even tougher to make it absolutely clear that this state will not tolerate knives and other weapons on our streets,” Mr Cameron said.
Heavy penalties will also apply to any person who sells a prohibited weapon, such as a dagger or a sword, to a person under 18, and children and young people will face court and fines of up to $2986 if they purchase any of these very deadly weapons.
