Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh has issued an impassioned call for action following a “crime wave” fuelled by a shortage of police at country stations in his northern Victorian electorate.
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In a speech to Parliament, the Member for Murray Plains highlighted a number of examples of burglary and theft in and around Rochester, including a recent holdup involving a crossbow.
“The local supermarket in Lockington has been burgled four times now,” he said.
“When their baker turned up at five o’clock in the morning to commence work he was held up with a crossbow. He was actually held up with a crossbow at five o’clock in the morning in a small country community.”
Mr Walsh said the supermarket’s second-generation owner was now questioning whether to continue to operate the business “because they are so traumatised by the crime there”.
“Her quote to me was, ‘The worst part is knowing that they’re going to come back again and again’,” he said.
“Because these people are purportedly feeding their drug habit by breaking into these businesses.”
Mr Walsh said one farmer in Nanneella had also been targeted by thieves four times.
“The last time it happened, the thieves took absolutely everything out of his shed – every piece of equipment, every tool, every nail – everything,” he said.
“They even emptied the rubbish bins and filled them with things from the shed to take away.”
In Tongala, where the local police officer was recently away on leave, Mr Walsh said a farm store business was burgled of $8500 worth of property but no one was available to write it up.
“The local owner there ... cannot even put in an insurance claim for that particular burglary because until the policeman comes back from leave and does the report, the insurance company will not accept the claim.”
