by CAA | Mar 3, 2026 | Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
An article by journalist Justin Smith in The Herald Sun, 2nd of March 2026, exposes the failure of the Police Advice Line (PAL) and prompts memories of retired police involved at the management level in the introduction of 11444 in the 1980’s -1990’s.
It also exposes the inability, often referred to by the CAA in the Force, to understand Service Delivery or Service efficiency concepts accurately.
The CAA has been amazed at the lack of understanding of the concepts and their application by executive Police, let alone lower but still senior people.
This lack of understanding is embarrassing for the Force, where changes intended to improve Service Delivery are blatantly Service Efficiency masquerading as Service Delivery, as Smith has exposed in this instance.
The PAL does not do what it is purported to do; it is a failure. All the claims about saving Police time may be efficient if the Service is still delivered, but that is clearly not the case.
In the kindest interpretation, all the claims about why the public should use the PAL are blatantly misleading.
When you ring 131444, you will not get Police advice; you will be connected to a console operator who will refer you elsewhere. With all the good training and intent, they are not the Police and cannot, and should not, be touted as providing advice and taking crime reports, etc.
That is the role of sworn police, and, surprisingly, the Police Association is not more vocal in protecting the Police profession.
It is a classic example of service delivery and service efficiency failure when someone with good intent rings the number and a crime report is taken, or advice is given by a non-police operator.
Any wonder that the pride in policing is waning when, as a noble and specialist profession in society, it has been relegated to a job anybody can do.
The community is entitled to be aggrieved when they thought they were talking to a police member, and trust and confidentiality are blown away when they discover that they were not talking to a police person after all.
Taking the example of a theft being reported via 131444, firstly, the person taking the report has no policing skills or experience and can only tick boxes, so that when the file is forwarded to a Police Station for investigation, the member who is allocated the crime must start from scratch, making the report taken redundant.
The problems with this process are,
- That the attending member must start from scratch again makes the claims of efficiency false,
- The savings alleged in Police time are nonsense if work has to be repeated, just duplication at another place.
- Time-critical intelligence may not be obvious to call takers and may be lost to the investigator when the report makes it to the attending member from the 131444 operators.
- While there are delays in getting the report to the appropriate Police for attention, the crook may escape, or a crime scene may be decimated or compromised.
- Local knowledge of crime trends is not apparent to console operators, and what may seem an innocuous crime of itself may be critical to a wider investigation. This can only be identified by police with current local knowledge of crime trends.
So, for all the money expended on the PAL line, it is neither efficient nor provides even minimal service delivery, but does produce false efficiency figures, as Jason Smith’s report highlights.
Although it is claimed that the PAL was introduced in 2019, it was preceded by Police Advice Line 11444, which retired Police members of the CAA were involved in at the management level.
- The Courier (Ballarat)reported (Feb 14–15, 2019) that in the 1980s–1990s Victorians used 11 444 (Police), and that Telstra had decommissioned those numbers by 2002.
And why was 11444 selected as the PAL number? The telco at the time researched the most easily recalled numbers and found that 11444 was the most easily recalled number, and in particular, it was suitable for people using it in stressful situations because of the proximity of the numbers on a keypad.
The original 11444 was manned by sworn Police and seen at the time as essential for the effectiveness of the service.
It is interesting to understand the mindset of the creators of the launch of PAL (mark 2) in 2019; that the number change by the inclusion of a 3, meant that calls to the police were charged to the caller, not the police, as was the case with 11444. And then a large amount of money had to be spent promoting the alleged new service number; questionable economics writ large.
It does seem the changes wrought were an example of fixing something that was not broken.
Having said all that, and what has been written over the years about the PAL line, much of it now exposed by Smith as propaganda, a very exhaustive search of the Internet has failed to identify one critical aspect of this sorry tale.
Without reviewing, how can management understand whether a project is performing well?
Failure to measure the effectiveness of the service from the end users’ perspective (who it was designed to benefit) is or should have been designed /undertaken into the service before the new contracts were agreed to. An embarrassing ‘faux pas’.
The solution may be painful initially, but the only way to resolve the issue is to automate the exchange so that all incoming calls to 131444 are directed to the nearest open Police Station.
It would be up to the Station Commanders to ensure the service is delivered at the lowest possible levels, a philosophy in modern management and currently embraced by Force Command. Decisions closer to the function.
Supervision, accountability and training at that level will ensure the calls are answered and actioned promptly and properly.
To achieve the resources necessary to implement this initiative, broadening the recruitment of former members on a part-time basis would be an obvious solution.
Even some ex-members who have retired and are medically unfit for general duties should not be ignored, but, subject to medical assessment, may perform this duty and benefit from regaining a sense of purpose in life.
This is not a matter of apportioning blame for the failure of PAL, as that is pointless, but advancing a solution as to how the situation can be rectified.
And it all starts with proper evaluation of performance, not from an efficiency perspective alone, but for the function or service delivered to the community.
The introduction of effective Key Performance Indicators (KPI) give management at all levels the ability to ensure Police output achieves its purpose.
Footnote:
After completing this article and explaining it to my local Hot Bread girl, who was interested in knowing what I did in my retirement, she related a very disturbing story.
She had occasion to notice a car apparently dumped near her home, so she rang 131444 to report the vehicle. As she saw it her civic duty. The operator who took the call claimed the car wasn’t stolen, and nothing could be done. Later, she had the local police knocking on her door, telling her the car was stolen and asking if she had seen anything or any other person from the vehicle.
She was most distressed when she was told that the person who took the original call was most probably not a police officer.
As she said, “I could have told that non-police person anything, and God knows what they would have done with the information”.
“I have decided never to ring again, as they can’t even sort out whether a car is stolen or not”.
How many times has this happened?
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by CAA | Mar 1, 2026 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues, Youth, Youth Crime
Two teenagers were arrested after stealing a taxi and holding a knife to the driver’s throat during a terrifying carjacking.
The apparent arrogance of the Jurists to legislation, the government, and the people of this state is now ‘beyond the pale.’
The recovered knife was well capable of inflicting the fatal wound of slitting the driver’s throat, as their actions implied.
The children appeared before a Children’s Court Magistrate and were granted bail.
This offence was committed some three hours after the new stricter laws came into effect in an effort by the government to reduce juvenile crime.
It is concerning that the legislation fails at the first test.
The actions of the Youths aggravate this by throwing the knife onto a Factory roof, demonstrating they well knew their actions were criminal, and that is further aggravated by the knife they used.
Not your common domestic variety, but a type used in abattoirs, butchery and gutting fish, arguably more dangerous than a machete, showing another flaw in the machete legislation.
While we support the Judiciary in its difficult task, blatant disregard for legislation cannot be tolerated, as it will undermine the Judiciary’s independence.
This matter of wanton disregard for the law by a Court is as egregious as the offences committed by the youths. This must be addressed, and the immediate issuing of proceedings against the Magistrate to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of Parliament is necessary.
If this action is not taken immediately, these actions by a Magistrate could well lead to a breakdown in the long-held traditional relationship between the Jurists and the Government.
It is likely to force the Government to enact further legislation, reinforcing their role as the legislators and the Courts’ subservience to legislation.
A lack of decisive action by the Government will show them up as weak and not committed to proper and effective jurisprudence.
We are disappointed that other Jurists have not spoken out against this Magistrate’s actions, reinforcing the view that some Jurists have formed a club that encourages pushback against laws they do not favour for ideological reasons, rather than being servants of the Law.
We have long argued that the role of the Courts in reducing crime should be one of their primary considerations, and Justices should be held to account for their effectiveness.
Bad decisions that do not serve the community well must be identified and remedial action taken to ensure that all jurists perform to a satisfactory standard.
But the problem is that there appear to be no standards, and there does not appear to be an effective Judicial Review process to rein in outlier Justices or cancel their contracts.
In most other spheres of professional endeavour, there are checks and balances to ensure the particular cohort is performing to its optimum
However, there appears to be no such process in place for the Jurists, and if there are any, they are totally ineffective. The community is entitled to know how the Jurists are performing.
How the Courts can avoid accountability to the community for their role in the current crime wave is really extraordinary.
It is time that the current court system is put under the microscope.
- The performance of individual Jurists.
- In sentencing,
- Adherence to the Legislation,
- Efficient use of allocated Court time,
- Further education undertaken,
- Their review of the impact of their decisions on sentencing and bail procedure after the event (performance effectiveness measuring).
- The performance of the Courts,
- Court efficiency and work output by Jurists, compared across the Court system.
- Using the same comparative process, the effectiveness of the jurist’s decision-making can be evaluated.
Like all their endeavours, it is critical that the Courts take responsibility for Service Delivery and not fall for the trap of masking poor Service delivery with Service efficiency, as many other organisations have.
When it comes to organisational or individual efficiency, it must be tested for its impact on Service delivery; if it reduces or affects that part of the equation, then back to the drawing board and try again.
The temptation to undertake a review of the system and the performance of individuals is real, however, who should conduct that review is the burning question, because the norm seems to be that any attempts to upgrade and make the Court system more productive and efficient is generally given to individuals who are part of and immersed in the current system, so anything that might upset the comfortable ‘apple cart’ will render the reviewer ‘persona non gratia’ in the Legal profession the fear of which controls the profession.
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by CAA | Feb 27, 2026 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
Industrial relations between the Force and its Police employees are currently facing a significant crisis, but an even greater problem is heading down the rails towards them.
When it arrives, it will have devastating consequences, particularly impacting the Victorian diaspora.
We are referring to,
- The concept of employees working from home being legislated.
- The significant number of Migrants, with many from countries where the rule of law either does not apply or is only marginal.
- The continuing erosion of the legislated Powers for Police to do their work, driven by ideology.
- The lack of support from the judiciary. This is particularly so in relation to Bail processes, and again, ideologically driven.
- and the Inefficiency of the Court System penalising both the police and the victims.
Coupled with the industrial landscape, the Force now finds itself on a collision course of these factors, and the consequences do not bear thinking about.
The mass exodus of 450 Police, accepting a sick leave payout deal, was reported in the Herald Sun on the 22nd of February 2026.
‘How a Victoria Police sick leave deal triggered a mass exodus from the force’. – HS Headline.
The deal that expired on the 31st of December 2025 is the key to aggravating an already dire staffing problem that is having a devastating impact on Force members.
As if what the police who are left are dealing with isn’t enough, gross negligence will only exacerbate the situation and lead to an increased rush out the door.
What we don’t know is who is responsible for creating this crisis.
- Is it the Government?
- The Police Association or
- The then Police administration negotiating the EBA?
An independent inquiry into this fiasco is urgently required to apportion blame and provide guidance on how the Force can address this staffing disaster.
Did they not see the unintended consequences of the impact this would have on the rest of the Force by this Enterprise Bargaining agreement?
Or was this some sleight of hand or skulduggery whereby the Government moved unrealised liabilities to another part of the ledger, so that paying out the Police members with the Sick Leave sugar hit, the Government achieved immediate savings on salaries?
The average pay grade for a Police member, including allowances, is over $100k per annum. When you consider other employment liabilities and costs, the 450 members who were attracted to the Sugar hit, in real numbers, translates into half a Billion Dollars off the government’s budget bottom line. We already know that it will take perhaps a decade to bring the numbers back up.
All the while, the Government wallows in the knowledge that they are saving a bomb for the entire forward estimates and paying homage to those who see defunding the Force as a legitimate cause.
Based on current estimates, it will take 6.25 years just to replace those lost due to the EBA. And that does not take into account any other adverse staffing hits incurred through to 2032 just to bring the Force back up to 2025 levels. The risk factors are insurmountable; in the current environment, it just won’t happen.
As Darryl Kerrigan would say, “ Tell ’em they’re dreaming”
Although the community inevitably suffers when the numbers in the Force drop to the point where one in 11 police vacancies are unfilled, what is not spoken about is the devastating impact on the remaining members trying to hold the Force up.
This latest double whammy has a two-pronged impact.
Firstly, it is undeniable that losing experienced Officers is counterproductive, but the pressure placed on the remaining staff will only lead to increased sick leave and resignations.
Police across the State already work a disproportionate number of after-hours shifts. Still, this latest blow will increase the frequency of Night Shift and other shifts that are less conducive to their lifestyle and family, putting greater negative pressure on them not to continue their careers.
We do not begrudge the members being paid out; the question is how, in such a difficult staffing climate, this payout was allowed to be so mismanaged, rather than a phased approach over a number of years and more closely managed.
Somebody has failed, and we need to know who the culprits are.
Then, to top things off, we have a more significant crisis heading our way that seems to be completely overlooked, and we see no strategies in place to deal with it.
Yes, the ubiquitous Working From Home (WFH) monster is heading for the Force (and all other emergency services) at breakneck speed, with legislation touted to be introduced before the Elections in November for a legislated two-day WFH right for State workers.
Yes, it does have some wishy-washy qualifier, an if, but how long that if will last is anybody’s guess, but in the norm for Industrial relations issues, the shoe is in the door.
There has been a lot of publicity about how employees who work from home can save money, but that is insulting to those who have the ‘if’ applied to them without compensation.
Police are already under huge stress due to the routing of the Force’s strength.
When the WFH train hits, problems will multiply, and the exodus will continue and accelerate alarmingly as members burn out more quickly, aggravating staffing shortfalls.
Why would anybody work godforsaken shifts to be spat on and cursed, be expected to deal day in and day out with the scum of our society, with a workload that is increasing exponentially while the workforce declines by the same matrix?
How fair is it that these people, who put their social lives in limbo, their safety on the line, and are increasingly being called on to deal with the worst that society has to offer, be any less deserving of the financial windfalls than other State employees who enjoy WFH?
The whole WFH debate lacks one imperative: productivity.
How is an employee’s productivity measured when they WFH?
There is no doubt that some WFH individuals are diligent, but many others may go through the motions without proper supervision.
Anecdotally, we are advised that traffic on Golf Courses has increased dramatically in recent times, as has dog walking, and that car parks at gyms are full during the traditional working week. You have also probably noticed a substantial increase in Lycra-clad treadlies on our scenic roads.
Productivity, accountability, and satisfactory levels of employee performance and effectiveness, compared to the salaries they attract, have not been included or even discussed. The example of individuals doing the big circuit for months at a time or answering their phone while on the beach will continue to rort the system.
Then think of the poor Police, who are again the brunt of this mismanagement, with the consequences seemingly evaded.
Our new Chief Commissioner has shown strong leadership, being clear-eyed about the issues. However, his role is being stymied by other pressures not of his making that will have far-reaching, deleterious impacts on the Force; impacts that even he may not be able to manage.
We definitely need a Royal Commission into this whole issue of police staffing and allied impacts so that proper planning to address the issues can be determined, as equally important as who or what entity is responsible for this mess and how they will be held to account.
It will be argued that a Royal Commission would be too expensive. Still, that expense pales into insignificance compared with the impact of the Government’s mismanagement of the Force in recent decades, which continues unabated.
But what can be done?
A review of the Force’s training would be one answer.
The media claim of 77 additional recruits per year is a drop in the bucket that will evaporate before having any impact, so radical approaches must be explored.
With the WFH edicts, the Government must have redundant buildings, as maintaining an exclusive workstation or office for WFH employees is nonsensical, so rationalisation is imperative.
This would free up additional resources to accommodate a vast quantitative expansion of training.
The resources for conducting the training can be drawn from members who need some reprieve from the frontline, a sabbatical, and/or members who can be encouraged to return to the Force in a training capacity.
Rather than the current approach to Police ongoing training needs, which currently favours online training of operational members, they can be trained at a new facility in a matter of weeks, rather than the months it takes for online training.
Shorter periods of focused classroom training will be more effective and have added benefits over the online model, which proponents argue is more efficient, but that is at the expense of effectiveness.
Classroom training advantages give the members a break from the frontline, exposing them to peers and enabling proactive assessment of their psychological status rather than waiting for the dreaded PTSI to strike, making them incapable of performing.
As far as recruits go, that number can be increased threefold by the first part of their training at the Academy, followed by the bulk of their training off campus at
another training facility, returning to the Academy for the last four weeks and graduation.
This approach will also avoid the need to reduce recruits’ training time to accommodate larger numbers, which may well be a false economy. Training is critical to the organisation’s effective capability and should attract greater focus.
It will be the Police administration’s ability to think outside the square to address staffing problems that makes a difference.
Many other initiatives will alleviate the issue; our Police members deserve something better.
The whole concept of encouraging retired police back to alleviate pressure on the existing force must be rethought so that the numbers returning are substantial, which may include removing the time barriers after leaving the force, as it is the quality and suitability of the returning applicant to perform the tasks on offer, not some arbitrary date, that should be the primary consideration.
The arbitrary date methodology is an antiquated approach from a bygone era. Matching the applicant to a task approach is more current in staff appreciation.
Is there a need for an inquiry? Yes.
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by CAA | Feb 25, 2026 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
‘Decanting’ is the name given to the process of shuffling prisoners on remand around Police stations to avoid exceeding the 14-day holding limit for each prisoner. With over 300 prisoners being shuffled between Police cells, as reported in The Age on the 24th of February 2026, this is an absolute disgrace on multiple fronts. Foremost is the unnecessary use of Police time being absorbed, not only the physical movement of prisoners, but the wasted time police spend on accompanying paperwork. Additionally, the greatest risk to the safety of Police and Prison staff is when prisoners are being moved, and the risk of escape or violence is most likely to occur; therefore, prisoner movements must be discouraged, not extended.
But back to the ‘Decanting’. How is it that the Force can breach the detention days by shuffling prisoners? They are still in detention, and the police are being used to breach the intention of the Prisoner management rules – how legal is that? The strategy of this process allows the police to ‘reset the clock’ to avoid breaching regulations. That is not how a problem like this should be dealt with, breaking the rules, and a proper solution needs to be determined as a matter of urgency before a hapless police member is caught up in an incident with a Prisoner during the transport that sees the member injured or charged.
If something happens, you can bet the hierarchy will see the blame at the frontline, not the administration’s failure to facilitate a solution to an obvious, avoidable problem. We have lost hundreds of Police from the street whose job it is to protect us, but we have police tied up ‘defending prisoners’ rights, how is that justified? Facilitating the police to break the rules is a disgrace. We expect our Police to set an example for the rest of the community, but in this case, the Force accepts/requires breaches to occur, although the problem was not caused by the Police.
Charging criminals and opposing bail for the safety of the community is their real job. We accept that prisoners on remand are not convicted of the alleged crimes, and that a Court has determined they should be remanded pending the hearing to determine the outcome of the charges. Ensuring the prisoner returns to Court and that the community’s safety is protected are essential considerations. The prisoner’s welfare or cultural issues should play no part in the Court’s decision, as all prisoners should be treated equally before the Law. The solution is mind-bendingly simple. For a Prisoner to be held on remand, they have the same physical and administrative resource needs no matter where they are located. And the Prisoner on remand or a Prisoner serving a sentence should have the same basic rights and restrictions.
The label on the door is the only thing that changes from one cell to another. That the prisons are full is hardly an excuse, given that they were closing down a Jail in Victoria and building additional capacity in the juvenile justice space. Some creative management should solve this problem overnight, and a Prisoner on remand in the same facility as Prisoners serving sentences, though separated, must and could well be accommodated.
Remember, the label on the cell door determines the status of the person behind it. The management of Prisoners is a corrections issue, not a police one, and given the egregious level of lack of safety the public is experiencing, it is essential that police used in this process be returned to general duty (making us safe) as an absolute priority. This problem dates back to at least 1987. After almost forty years, it cannot be said that the Government has been taken by surprise.
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by CAA | Feb 14, 2026 | Corruption, Investigations, Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
Picture Herald Sun.
It would be reasonable to transpose the issues, with a modern twist, that led to the permanent deregistration of the Builders Labourers Foundation (BLF) in 1986, including the jailing of their Secretary, Norm Gallagher.
The long-standing Secretary of the CFMEU, until recently, John Setka, although jailed in 1990, unlike Gallagher, has not been jailed for his CFMEU activities. That might all change, as he is due to face court in June 2026 on seven charges relating to threatening and abusive emails.
The alleged criminal behaviour of the CFMEU, as reported in the Herald Sun on 12 February 2026 and other publications, when compared to the behaviour of the BLF in the 80’s, makes the BLF seem tame.
As disgraceful and criminal as this alleged behaviour may be, there is a more serious consideration: the need for a “please explain” from the Victorian Government.
After all the reports of bad behaviour, how did this government not act?
All the rhetoric that the politicians may present cannot erase the hard fact that the Government has failed, because they have been ‘once bitten, twice shy’. How irresponsible is it to have this problem resurface?
It now means the Government must not only resolve the CFMEU’s current issues but also undertake the necessary work to ensure that such alleged criminality in the organised union workforce does not recur.
Unfortunately, the Union movement as a whole will have to accept restrictive practices imposed not only because of the CFMEU’s behaviour, but also because this is not the first time Unions have facilitated criminality.
Among the restrictions designed to promote and protect lawful union behaviour will be the need to change the industrial relations landscape across the board.
The Government must accept responsibility for managing Union activity and provide enforceable behavioural and activity-based standards, with breaches subject to swift prosecution, including jail time and fines.
The Fair Work Commission (the National Workplace Relations Tribunal) coordinates its activities through the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
The failure of these bodies has clearly been the root cause of and the explosion of alleged criminality within the union movement.
Having the ACTU coordinating the regulations of the Fair Work Commission, along with their State branch affiliates like the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC), not only is cumbersome and likely to be inefficient, but it could be argued that this is like ‘putting a fox in charge of the chook house’; nothing good can come from it.
As unpalatable as it might be politically, the Premier is caught between ‘a rock and a hard place’.
If she doesn’t call a Royal Commission, the Opposition will have a field day as the community will accept nothing less.
If she calls a Royal Commission, the evidence could be politically damaging if made public during the election lead-up. Again, the Opposition can make an issue of this.
There have been four Royal Commissions in Victoria over the last decade, and they are all well-justified and go to addressing serious anomalies; however, we would argue that the impact on Law and Order, the safety of our community, and the cost to the State (us) in the broader impact of the CFMEU issue, has far surpassed previous Commissions.
Key Victorian Royal Commissions (Approx. 2016–2026):
- Royal Commission into Family Violence (2015–2016): Led to major reforms in the state’s approach to domestic violence.
- Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants (2019–2020): Investigated the use of lawyer Nicola Gobbo as a police informer.
- Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System (2019–2021): Investigated and made recommendations to overhaul the state’s mental health services.
- Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence (2021): Investigated the suitability of Crown Resorts to hold the Melbourne casino licence.
A Royal Commission is essential to ensure no other entities have been turning a blind eye or otherwise compromised.
Our laws are the cornerstone of our democracy and the freedoms we enjoy, so, as with other serious matters, it is essential that the CFMEU and the broader Building/Construction industries, as well as Unionism more broadly in this State, be addressed.
What cannot be expressed strongly enough is that the alleged unlawful behaviours of the CFMEU and other players, not yet identified, constitute serious organised crime, and that the adverse impact on all of us, as crime stretches its tentacles, goes far beyond the Building Industry. The Industry is just the epicentre.
The solution is to equip IBAC, as our anti-corruption body, with the resources and expertise to be effective, something that they are now not.
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by CAA | Feb 11, 2026 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues, Violence, Youth Crime
Herald Sun Pic.
The Herald Sun article, 9th of February 12026, highlights the shocking statistics recently released by Victoria Police on this crime trend.
The numbers are important, but what matters most is the real impact on the victims.
Tough new laws introduced by the Government in 2016 have had no positive effect.
It is clear now that the habit of certain politicians making announcements without any intent of the problem being addressed or resolved. It is now turning out to be the mantra of the most recent decade of political leaders, as more and more announcements turn out to be just hollow rhetoric designed to impress the electorate, a veil for inaction.
These politicians who are highly shortsighted will pay a steep price for their recklessness.
It is now evident that hollow political policy announcements are a form of obfuscation. Exposed with regular monotony in the daily news over a wide spectrum of social issues lately. Carjacking is just another subject in a long line of false undertakings.
Politicians must be accountable, and not just at the ballot box.
And while politicians may revel in their effectiveness in deceiving the electorate, the number of victims keeps racking up as rapidly as the effectiveness of the courts decline.
The view that the problem is a Policing one is shallow and ill-informed. Although there are actions the Police can take, the real cause of the upswing in this crime is the Courts’ mismanagement of the perpetrators and the Government’s failure to hold the Courts to account and ensure that perpetrators suffer real consequences sufficient to discourage further offending.
Until the Courts accept, or are directed to accept, accountability for the problems predominantly caused by Juvenile offenders, then and only then will we see improvements in the management of this and other serious Juvenile crime.
The Government has many levers at its disposal and must start to use them.
All the sentencing initiatives are of no use if the judiciary can find ways to circumvent them.
Until the Judiciary starts to put the community and the victims first, we will see no meaningful change, yet the Government has the power to legislate the hierarchy of considerations in sentencing as an adjunct to the sentencing guidelines.
Unfortunately, the guidelines have morphed into instructions that may not reflect the will of the legislators but can be used by Jurists to administer the law in a manner conducive to their social reform agenda.
Putting the welfare of an individual perpetrator ahead of the community at large and the victims is an anathema to good jurisprudence.
The solution is not easy and does not rest solely with the Courts, although their role is pivotal; there is a pressing need to identify mechanisms to engage with the criminal cohort to raise awareness of the risks they face from their behaviour and to promote change.
Although no criminal will commit a crime knowing they will be caught, even with the chances of being caught extremely high, there is no accounting for stupidity, ignorance, or both.
The cost to the community and Government of this crime is horrendous, so spending on communicating and promoting a clear and consistent message that crime doesn’t pay will have a positive impact.
Particularly, if the perpetrators are belittled for their behaviour in the view of their peers by a simple slogan. “Don’t be a bloody idiot”, promoted by the media and the Courts.
Language they would understand and a label they would abhor.
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by CAA | Feb 10, 2026 | Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues, Violence
Picture Herald Sun
This heading says it all.
This is the only reasonable explanation for the wanton danger Police are placed in by the Governments and Police Administrations.
Shocking photos emerged today, the 10th of February 2026, in the Herald Sun, of the violent clash between police and demonstrators in New South Wales.
Whilst the reports indicate that the Victorian demonstrations were less violent, it was nevertheless clear that they infringed Victorians’ rights by blocking access to infrastructure and impeding free movement throughout the city.
The police seemed powerless to address such a large number.
But the major issue is why police administrations and Governments continue to fail to provide the necessary legislation, supported by the Courts, and the equipment for Police to effectively control crowds, irrespective of the crowd’s collective cause.
We are sick and tired of watching reports of Police being pummelled with many ending up in hospital as a result of criminal elements attending these demonstrations.
Politicians and Police administrations wringing their hands and talking tough do not heal Police bruises or mend broken bones.
Let’s hope our advocacy yields results before a member does not return to their family after a demonstration.
The CAA has long advocated the introduction of Water Cannons to take the load and minimise the risk to police who are there doing their job for all citizens.
These vehicles are used effectively not only to dampen demonstrators’ enthusiasm but also to move them on, where required, with minimal risk to police on foot.
It is very disappointing that the Police Associations in Australia have remained largely silent, at least publicly, on the dangers their members face.
In any other sector of a workplace where the safety of the workers was not paramount, and the dangers were not mitigated, there would be ‘hell to pay’, with immediate industrial action and a string of cases before WorkCover.
In this case, Police lodging WorkCover claims would clog the system for years.
The provision of suitable water cannons, which should be capable of being built in Australia, supporting local manufacturing, with the already-proven Bushmaster modified for crowd-control use, would fit the bill.
The key to using these smaller, highly manoeuvrable, and robust vehicles, rather than the larger-capacity vehicles used overseas, is to operate them in tandem so one can be refilled while the other continues to respond.
The presence of two of these vehicles near gatherings would be an effective and cheap deterrent, as the number of police deployed could be substantially reduced.
Many people who appear in media reports would respond positively to the sight of these vehicles in the vicinity and avoid a confrontation.
Prevention is the ultimate Policing weapon.
But we are still at a loss as to who is blocking the equipping of the Police and continually causing Police to be put into danger.
Those responsible should stand alongside the Police at the next demonstration and be exposed to the challenges the Police must continually contend with.
Australia used to have this equipment, and speaking with a former head of an interstate Police Force, who disposed of their Water Cannon and did so on the basis that they were maintaining kit that was never used.
Perhaps because they had the kit, the deterrent effect did the job, preventing police officers from becoming victims of violence.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) is funded by the members and the generous donations from the public. Please consider donating to help us continue to work for you. Simply click on the button below. Thank you - your generosity is very much appreciated.
by CAA | Feb 2, 2026 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
As the Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) steps into 2026, we do so with momentum, clarity of purpose, and a deep respect for those who have served before us. Our achievements in 2025 were significant—but they were also constrained by a simple reality: capacity.
Retired police members have always been at the heart of the CAA’s work. Their insight, operational understanding, and lived experience of service make them uniquely positioned to help shape the future of community safety in Victoria.
Critical to the effectiveness of the CAA is the non-police members who come from a diverse background, providing balance and real insight into the hearts and minds of the community.
Now, more than ever, we need you to join us in the fight.
Ten Years of Progress—But Much More to Do
In 2025,
- The CAA website had 174,833 visits in 2025 with 1,063,489 pages accessed from a reach of 43,000, making the site our primary communication vehicle, an outstanding success by any measure.
- We advocated for countless individuals who were unable to make their voices heard.
- Provided informed, operationally grounded advice on multiple Bills before Parliament.
- Developed a policy that CAA does not make comments on any issue unless it can also provide suggested solutions.
- Continued vital work supporting former Police suffering from PTSI—injuries caused not by lifestyle, but by duty.
- Assisting the PSTI Health Service through our PTSI Team, ensuring former members are as far as possible, not left behind.
- Expanded our role in combating the rise of doxing—a dangerous trend that has cost young people their lives.
- Providing advice to VicPol from our vast Policing experience influenced by our strong, diversified non-police members.
- Continues to advocate strongly, representing various communities badly affected by the drug scourge.
- We also strengthened our working relationship with VicPol subsequent to the appointment of Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, giving us a direct and productive channel to raise issues and propose solutions.
Why 2026 Is Critical
Our workload continues to grow. Community demand is increasing. And every week, more people turn to us for help navigating systems that are often complex and unresponsive.
But like many volunteer-driven organisations, our membership is ageing, and our capacity is stretched.
To keep doing this essential work—work grounded in integrity, fairness and community safety—we need to bring in more experienced hands.
We need to bring you in..
Be Part of the Next Chapter
2026, an election year, will be a defining year for the CAA and the law-and-order space. With the right people on board, we can expand our impact, amplify the voices of those who need help, and build a stronger organisation for years to come.
We are asking for people who know what service truly means—to stand with us.
Join us. Support us. Continue the mission.
Your experience matters—and Victoria needs you.
If you are the right fit, the next step is?
Forward your expression of interest and contact details by email to ceo@caainc.org.au .
We will arrange for one of our Directors to contact you to discuss membership.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) is funded by the members and the generous donations from the public. Please consider donating to help us continue to work for you. Simply click on the button below. Thank you - your generosity is very much appreciated.
by CAA | Jan 28, 2026 | Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
As the Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) steps into 2026, we do so with momentum, clarity of purpose, and a deep respect for those who have served before us. Our achievements in 2025 were significant—but they were also constrained by a simple reality: capacity.
Retired police members have always been at the heart of the CAA’s work. Your insight, operational understanding, and lived experience of service make you uniquely positioned to help shape the future of community safety in Victoria.
Now, more than ever, we need you back in the fight—in a way that honours your service but doesn’t place you back on the front line…
A Year of Progress—But Much More to Do
In 2025, the CAA achieved,
- Via our primary communication channel, our website received 174,833 visits and 1,063,489 page views.
- Advocated for countless individuals who were unable to make their voices heard.
- Provided informed, operationally grounded advice on multiple Bills before Parliament.
- Continued vital work supporting former Police suffering from PTSI—injuries caused not by lifestyle, but by duty.
- Assisted the Health Service through our PTSI Team, ensuring former members were not left behind.
- Expanded our role in combating the rise of doxing—a dangerous trend that has cost young people their lives.
- Strengthened our working relationship with VicPol through the appointment of Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, giving us a direct and productive channel to raise issues and propose solutions.
Why 2026 Is Critical
Our workload continues to grow. Community demand is increasing. And every week, more people turn to us for help navigating systems that are often complex and unresponsive.
But like many volunteer‑driven organisations, our membership is ageing, and our capacity is stretched.
To keep doing this essential work on behalf of serving police and the community —work grounded in integrity, fairness and community safety—we need to bring in more experienced hands.
We need to bring in you.
Why Retired Police Are So Important to Us
Retired Police bring something no one else can replicate:
✔ Operational experience
✔ Insight into policing, systems and communities
✔ Credibility when speaking to government, media and VicPol
✔ A practical understanding of risk, public safety and accountability
✔ A lifelong commitment to serving others
Your service didn’t end when you left the job.
Your skills didn’t disappear.
Your voice still carries weight.
And the CAA provides a place where that experience makes a real difference—without the stress, pressures or dangers of frontline work.
What Joining the CAA Means for Former Police
Becoming a member gives you the opportunity to:
▶ Continue serving the community—on your terms
▶ Influence meaningful policy and legislative reform
▶ Protect vulnerable people who have nowhere else to turn
▶ Support former colleagues battling PTSI and other service‑related injuries
▶ Strengthen accountability and safety across Victoria
▶ Help shape the future direction of an organisation built by Police, for the community
Many retired officers tell us they miss the sense of purpose, teamwork, and knowing their work matters.
The CAA gives you that purpose again—without the uniform.
Be Part of the Next Chapter
2026 will be a defining year for the CAA. With the right people on board, we can expand our impact, amplify the voices of those who need help, and build a stronger organisation for years to come.
We are asking retired Police—those who know what service truly means—to stand with us.
Join us. Support us. Continue the mission.
Your experience still matters—and Victoria still needs it.
To discuss what your membership could involve, contact the CAA CEO Ivan Ray on 0427100990.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) is funded by the members and the generous donations from the public. Please consider donating to help us continue to work for you. Simply click on the button below. Thank you - your generosity is very much appreciated.
by CAA | Jan 10, 2026 | Library, Uncategorized
Today’s news that Victoria Police has abandoned their six-month CBD stop and search for weapons trial, and rescinded the ban on face masks, is an assault on our freedoms.
We are not referring to the rights of people to protest, as we have no difficulty with that; however, when the demonstrations of a few impact the broader community, interfering with the community’s right to freedom of movement and to participate in community activity, then something has got to be done about it.
Sacrificing the community’s freedoms for a few is neither the answer nor reasonable or fair.
And all this hullabaloo about loss of freedoms because demonstrators can’t wear masks is an abomination without equal.
We have not seen one mask that furthers or supports the cause being demonstrated, so there is only one reasonable conclusion, and that is the masks are used to hide the demonstrators’ identity, and there is only one reason that they would hide their identity, is to avoid the risk of prosecution for illegal acts.
In other words, there is no plausible reason for a mask to be worn.
Whether the cancellation of the trial was due to imminent legal proceedings in the Federal Court, we don’t know, but the timing strongly suggests it was.
The court action is being taken by two plaintiffs represented by the Human Rights Law Centre. From a community perspective, it’s like ‘rubbing salt into a wound’ because we understand that the HRLC is a government-funded body. Yes, we are paying for the two Plaintiffs to challenge what is a reasonable action by the Police to protect the whole community.
Are we naive to expect that Government-funded entities should put the rights and freedoms of the broader community ahead of two individuals? Our legal system is being manipulated at our cost, and we are supposed to accept that.
The case is reported to be based on bans and Police actions that,
‘Breached the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities’ right to peaceful assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, non-discrimination, privacy and freedom of expression.’
They were also claiming the police powers over face mask coverings at protests are unconstitutional as they ‘interfere with rights to political communication.’
Picking that case apart,
- Nobody, particularly the Police, has, as far as we know, stymied or interfered with peaceful assembly since COVID, unless that assembly unreasonably impacts the broader community. That impact can be because of violence or disruption to the freedom of other citizens.
- Freedom from arbitrary arrest is a ‘hairy old chestnut’ trotted out and applies only to countries without a legal system as robust as ours.
- Discrimination is also a concept trotted out in weak arguments to give the argument veritas.
- Privacy and freedom of expression are two conflicting concepts. If you want privacy and then flaunt your identity in a public discourse, you cannot expect to retain the privacy you voluntarily relinquish, and freedom of expression has never been challenged.
- To argue that face masks and coverings are unconstitutional is indeed a spurious argument, as unless the mask or covering was placed involuntarily, it is the purview of the person with the face covering.
If that covering interferes with political communication, take it off.
We fail to see how the deliberate actions of an individual who is concerned for their rights can overtly create and apply breaches to themselves.
This legal action, again reminding readers at our cost, should and we hope will be an action of futility, and we implore the Courts to treat it as such.
We call on the Premier to make good on her promise to implement laws to facilitate the banning of masks and to instruct the Attorney General to sit down with the Chief Commissioner and prepare legislation to address matters that should be unlawful.
The Police role is to protect the broader community, but they cannot be expected to do that without the elected government’s legislative powers and tools to do the job.
Fix it now, because failure today promotes anarchy in the future, and anarchy will create the necessity for a Police state.
We had a taste of what a Police State would be like during COVID. Heaven forbid government inaction pushes us down that path again.
by CAA | Jan 1, 2026 | Library, Uncategorized
A year of many positives and significant negatives, 2025, will likely be remembered for the negatives, and there can be no greater negative than the disaster that befell members at Porepunkah.
The loss of two members and a third injured in performing their duty is a pain that all police and many in the community share.
The Bondi massacre that followed, although interstate, also had a profound impact and raised genuine concerns about where this country is heading, which can produce murdering thugs to promote and obscure ideology and hatred towards one class of Australians.
We think all Australians will cast doubt over the claims that these thugs were acting alone.
Was this pronouncement deliberately designed to allay community fear because it is difficult to accept and gives rise to scepticism that they acted in isolation from their families, social contacts and others in the community that share their twisted logic?
The CAA, however, has been very busy all year and has achieved some notable goals.
We have achieved 176k website visitors from a reach of over 43k. We propose to extend those numbers in 2026.
The headline numbers are solid; however, the quality of our message recipients is our outstanding strength.
Established in 2015 and now entering its 11th year, the CAA continues to grow as a reasoned voice for the community.
The highlight of the years in many ways was the appointment of Mike Bush as Chief Commissioner.
We had worked with several of the executive and Chief Commissioners, but none instilled great confidence in leading the necessary reformation of Victoria Police.
We were amazed by the lack of corporate acumen displayed by these Senior people; many did not understand corporate basics such as the fundamental concepts of proactive versus reactive policing, and, more damning, many did not understand the difference between Service delivery and Service efficiency.
Some were, and probably still are, wedded to the failed Matrix management system, likely because it avoided accountability for their actions or inaction.
The future looks particularly bleak for the careers of those who ascribe to this philosophy.
We therefore held high hopes for the new appointee, who was recruited from New Zealand and came to VicPol with few prejudices and certainly no baggage.
The average Police member is not too innate to these issues, but at the corporate level, they are foundational.
The organisation and how it functions at a corporate level have a direct correlation with the Police at the sharp end, and VicPol’s failure as an organisation has a lot to answer for.
The CAA had been invited to meet formally with the Chief Commissioner Bush on the day of the Porepunkah murders, and the postponed meeting happened in December when the Chair and CEO met with the Chief and his immediate staff.
From the CAA perspective, the meeting was very refreshing, as Bush focused on the Force’s corporate governance and how it could be improved, including a significant reorganisation of the Corporate executive structure to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Simply put, the executive would be trimmed to create a sharper, pyramidal structure, with decisions delegated down the organisation to the area where the decision-makers are closest to the consequences of the decision.
Many other matters discussed at the meeting led us to conclude that Bush was the right man for the job, and his obvious energy would drive the Force in a better direction than recent leadership efforts.
The CAA team was delighted that many of the initiatives the CAA has promoted over its decade are foremost in Bush’s mind. Although we disagree on a few matters, Bush agrees with many of the CAA’s positions.
It would be helpful for any Police member aspiring to promotion to be familiar with the CAA Plans at https://caainc.org.au/.
Although many issues were discussed, we do not propose to breach the confidentiality of the meeting; however, we can disclose one area: the relationship between the CAA and the CCP.
The direct link between the CCP and the CAA was first established during the tenure of former Chief Commissioner Patton. This worked, but we are delighted that CCP Bush has grasped the concept and built upon it, strengthening the connection.
He clearly sees the benefit of the alternative flow of un-sanitised information to support his role.
As to our assessment of Bush, he is the real deal, and we implore all members to keep an open mind as change is introduced, as the big picture instils confidence that Victoria Police will regain the mantle of the best Force in Australia.
We look forward to again being a voice of reason for the community in 2026.
by CAA | Dec 22, 2025 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
CAA comment
This plea, published by Martha Tsamis, a Director of the CAA, resonates with all Australians at this time when terror has struck.
One of the most effective weapons against terrorism is community harmony.
This narrative delivers a poignant message that other community leaders must embrace to help build community resilience against tyranny.
It’s not just politicians who must embrace rebuilding our country’s heart; other business and social leaders must do the same.
Sitting on the window ledge, I look out and realise it’s the same play — just different actors. Different times, tougher paths, changing faces… but the human story never really changes.
For nearly two decades on Chapel Street, Patrick & I have seen the best and the worst of life and hospitality. We’ve watched people celebrate, grieve, fall apart, fall in love, rebuild, and start again. What I’ve learned is this: we are not meant to do life alone.
Social spaces aren’t just about nightlife — they’re about connection. About belonging. About mental health, community, laughter, music, and that moment where someone feels seen instead of invisible.
The challenges today are heavier. People are facing tougher versions of life than ever before. And that’s exactly why connection matters more than ever. When we lose places to gather, we lose more than businesses — we lose support systems.
Chapel Street has long been iconic for its people. It still can be. But it needs care, courage, and community to thrive again.
Different actors. Same stage. And we’re all connected — whether we realise it or not. So, let’s bring back the Chapel Street Festival.
Martha
Chasers Nightclub
by CAA | Dec 20, 2025 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
One could be mistaken by this headline as to who the victims of the Bondi massacre were.
The headline supports the reality that Multiculturalism has been manipulated and assisted by inaction and poor leadership by legislators and promoted by sectors of the media; Australia has become a Nation of tribes.
We are now reaping what we have sown, with 15 Australians dead and at least 38 injured.
The truth is that while our hearts go out to all those directly or indirectly affected by this outrage, the victims of this murderous rampage are Australians, victims of a very un-Australian act and it all could have been avoided.
This misleading headline assumes that one particular tribe in Australia was the victim.
While they may have been a target for some obscure reasons that promote hatred towards fellow humans, the reality is that tribalism has hit us hard and must be attacked as viciously as the attack on the Australians, who are part of the Australian Jewish (tribe) community.
We have seen the failings of a tribal culture and how it spawns terrorism, and know of no examples, worldwide, where tribalism has built and maintained a successful nation, yet we are encouraged to embrace and promote it for our First Peoples, an act of cruelty.
Driven by the ideological left’s elites, we must push back against the further encroachment of this social wedge.
This event will cause, or must cause, a seismic shift in the attitude of our leaders to avert a repeat and demonstrate a lack of tolerance for hatred and tribalism.
On 28 April 1996, at Port Arthur in Tasmania, Martin Bryant killed 35 people during the attack and injured 23 others. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern Australian history and led to sweeping gun law reforms nationwide.
The Port Arthur attack prompted an immediate response (leadership) from the government of the day under Prime Minister Howard, who led the unpopular (with firearm owners) amendments to gun laws outlawing semi-automatic weapons of the type used by Bryant.
It is interesting that, without access to automatic weapons, the Akram duo shot five fewer victims than Bryant. If the Akrams had access to the types of weapons used by Bryant, the outcome at Bondi does not bear thinking about.
What separates this barbarous act of terror at Bondi is the global influences that contributed and a clear failure of our immigration processes, allowing extremists who dedicate themselves to the destruction of our Liberal democracy to enter the country.
The Bryant massacre was entirely homegrown, but this massacre was, in a sense, imported. This means that a robust border system can dramatically reduce the risk of bringing international conflicts to our shores.
Poor migration decisions based on local ideological values must stop.
Initial reactions from our Prime Minister seem to be gun-focused, and while we support the tightening of gun laws in Australia, we need to ensure that the focus is not entirely on the weapons but on the lowlifes using them.
We must ensure the government’s focus is appropriately placed, and that they do not use the weapons as a smokescreen to avoid more pressing matters that would help prevent a repetition.
The Government does not need inquiries and commissions to address the issue of migration; it should vet those seeking to join our wonderful Nation.
The Australian Values Statement already exists but has never been made Law, as is the case in many comparable jurisdictions.
The Australian Government’s Values Statement includes a commitment to:
- Respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual.
- Freedom of religion, including the freedom not to follow a particular religion.
- Freedom of speech and freedom of association.
- Commitment to the rule of law – that all people are subject to the law & should obey it.
- Parliamentary democracy.
- Equality of opportunity for all people, regardless of gender, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
- A “fair go”, embracing mutual respect, tolerance, compassion for those in need, and equality of opportunity.
- Recognition of the English language as the national language and a unifying element of Australian society.
An addendum including some of the additional matters we see as essential must be passed into law as a matter of urgency, and the value Statement included in the constitution so it cannot be fiddled with by successive governments.
These values must be enforceable and enforced, and as a general rule, any breach would see the prospective visa holder returned to their country of origin.
Those who have applied and been granted citizenship must, as a matter of course, follow the principles of the Value Statement. Failure would create an automatic cancellation of their citizenship. |
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The following adjustments and actions must be considered.
Citizenship
- If any migrant resists accepting the liberal democracy principles, they and their family should have all visas or citizenship revoked and be sent back to their country of origin.
- Immediately revoke any visas or citizenship of any person preaching or promoting hate against any other Australian or group of Australians.
- Immediately legislate the prohibition of Sharia Law or other ideologies masquerading as religion that is not compatible with a Liberal Democracy. Proponents already in the country must have all visas cancelled, and those who have been granted citizenship must be deported. A zero-tolerance approach must be applied.
- Remove the rights of individuals and or families to use the legal system to delay deportation or other sanctions. They can reapply or contest the decision from their country of origin.
- Remove all social services support for any Visa holder – only available to Australian citizens.A two-year period after granting citizenship before they can be considered for welfare. If they do not have reasonable reasons, their citizenship can be revoked and be returned to their country of origin.
- Legislate a prohibition on any government or other entity from providing financial support for individuals to challenge Migration decisions in the Courts.
- While controversial, the impact of criminal breaches of citizenship requirements must be applied to the perpetrator and their family. Deporting a family will have the most significant preventive impact of any initiative.
If a family consists of children born in Australia, a Child over 18 of good character who can demonstrate they can support themselves has a choice whether to accompany their family.
Motivating complete families to take responsibility for violence will be the most significant deterrent available.
It is incomprehensible that no other members of the AKRAM family were aware or suspected the murderous intent of the father-son duo.
National Security
- Immediately upgrade the capacity of ASIO and Police intelligence services to identify potential risks earlier.
- Immediately implement the CAA proposed G-Tag system (https://caainc.org.au/g-tag-a-new-paradigm-in-community-safety-2) to strengthen intelligence gathering and or incident mitigation.
- Do not allow the Government to deflect from the complex issues, in particular migration, by blaming the firearms.
Policing
- Increase funding to all State Police Forces by 25%. A necessity that is no longer a luxury and must be afforded.
- Immediately adjust the budget for ASIO to enable it to be fit for purpose.
- Hold police Commissioners to account for the failure to enforce laws prohibiting antisemitic or other hate activities.
- Immediately review the appropriate legislation to ensure it is fit for law enforcement purposes.
- Ensure that State Police prosecute any crimes under Federal legislation.
- Immediately establish a declared fund to compensate any Police officer or other emergency worker who puts their own life in jeopardy or is injured performing their duties.
- Politicians must stop playing the ‘numbers game ‘ semantics with the Police and other emergency organisations’ staffing levels. Australia has increased its population dramatically in recent years, but not the number of police, so the police-to-population ratio is not met.
- Establish the Australian benchmark for State Policing at 3 per 1000. In Victoria, this would equate to about 18,400, up from about 15,000.
- Constantly overlooked by legislators is the impact of the large numbers of additional migrants who require a disproportionate amount of Policing resources due to their cultural background and ideologies. Policing resources must be commensurate with the additional demands on police caused by this. Policing numbers in any prescribed enclave of migrants where crime or extremism is evident must be 6 per 1000.
Firearms
- Immediately establish the National Firearms Registry to specialise in the management of firearms within the community and ensure that access to weapons is limited to appropriate purposes.
- Remove this as a State Police function, but not the Police’s power to enforce the legislation.
- Establish a permanent, generous buy-back scheme. to encourage citizens to dispose of firearms that they no longer use. If you don’t use it, you lose it.
- Restrict each firearm license holder to a maximum number and type of firearms commensurate with their intended function that serves their needs recreationally or professionally. Remove numeric calculations. Trying to get a license for a smooth-bore or centrefire long-arm to destroy vermin in any town or city would not be justification; however, an air-powered weapon may be appropriate. Equally, a rimfire weapon would be totally unsuitable for the purpose of pig hunting or other large feral animals. The days of owning multiple firearms because they like them are over. Firearm licence holders must demonstrate that the purpose for their licence and associated weapons remains as relevant when the licence was issued- a 12-monthly review.
- Apart from registering all firearm licensed holders, the actual firearm must be registered and linked to a firearms license capable of being tracked Nationally.
- Any person who is not an Australian Citizen must not have access to any firearm or be granted any Licence to possess or carry a firearm, irrespective of the intended use. Any breach is subject to immediate revocation of any Visa or other authority and deportation.
- Visa holders cohabitating with family or others who have access to a legal firearm must be prohibited.If it is of a temporary nature, the firearms must be stored with a licensed Gun dealer for the duration of the cohabitation.
- Any person who is not an Australian Citizen must surrender any firearms and their Licence until they have achieved citizenship and satisfied any new criteria established post Bondi.
To project Australia’s strength internationally and discourage undesirables. Apart from resourcing our police, it is equally important to arm our Military.
Australia has developed a soft underbelly due to our weak, under-resourced military and equally weak justice system that favours social justice causes. A Country where you can cause mayhem and murder, and the Country will pick up the tab for your defence and associated legal costs, is self-destructing. This must stop.
Moreover, we are such a soft touch that we probably provide welfare to the accused terrorists and their families while our embarrassingly convoluted legal system is processing them. This must stop.
Critical to any Legislative review is ensuring that penalties for breaches of the Law do not create martyrs but instead degrade the ideology that sponsors them.
In the Bondi matter, the deceased father must have his remains disposed of, not returned to his family to become a martyr.
Financing the actions necessary to protect our citizenry and our culture will not be cheap; however, it must take top priority in Government expenditure.
The question most poignant now is, why do we continue to welcome and tolerate people who are of the ilk of these terrorists?
While we understand migrants will always adhere to their traditions and mother tongue, assimilation means that individuals would lose their identity, which is humanly impossible. Australia also benefits from diversity, be it cultural, social or economic.
What must be paramount is that, despite this, immigrants are loyal to Australia.
Reality has now set in, and Government priorities must place the highest priority on this issue. The safety of the State and its citizens ranks above all else.
A 3-year hiatus in expenditure on other less essential functions of Government would fund the necessary upgrades to our security to protect our Nation and its citizens.
The other priorities will still be there after the hiatus ends.
It is pointless to spend money on other issues when we may not be here to enjoy them; Our safety must prevail.
A Priorities review is now essential; we have had the wake-up call.
by CAA | Dec 18, 2025 | Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
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VALUES & WHAT WE CHOOSE TO STAND FOR
CAA Comment:
This article, reprinted with kind permission from Heston Russell, the founder of the Australian Values Party, is a must-read for every Australian who cares about their country, our culture and our values. There is also sage advice on how the Police should go about recruiting.
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| What happened in Bondi was an act of terror and mass murder. Innocent people were killed while going about their lives, and families and a community have been shattered.
Moments like this rightly stop a nation – but they also test us.
In 2021, I raised the Australian Values Party for a simple reason:
Values are the bedrock of culture, society, and social cohesion.
Without shared values, laws become hollow, debate becomes tribal, and unity fractures.
Australia relies not only on laws, but on morals and ethics – the standards that shape how laws are written, interpreted, and enforced.
During my time in the Special Forces, when I was responsible for running the Commando Selection Course, we selected people almost entirely on values. Skills could be trained. Fitness could be built. Tactics could be taught.
But values – integrity, responsibility, respect for others, self-discipline, and accountability – had to already be there.
Get the values right, and together you can train the right people, build the right culture, and achieve extraordinary outcomes.
Values define identity.
Many Australians may not know this, but the Department of Home Affairs already has an Australian Values Statement – and it is not symbolic.
Every person entering Australia on a temporary visa, and every applicant progressing through to permanent residency, is required as a literal part of their visa processing to read, sign, and agree to this Values Statement.
Ironically, many people born here have never seen it.
The Australian Government’s Values Statement includes a commitment to:
- Respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual.
- Freedom of religion, including the freedom not to follow a particular religion.
- Freedom of speech and freedom of association.
- Commitment to the rule of law – that all people are subject to the law & should obey it.
- Parliamentary democracy.
- Equality of opportunity for all people, regardless of gender, age, disability, race, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
- A “fair go”, embracing mutual respect, tolerance, compassion for those in need, and equality of opportunity.
- Recognition of the English language as the national language and a unifying element of Australian society.
These values already exist. They are agreed to.
But they are not enshrined, visible, or enforced in the way they should be.
The United States has a Bill of Rights. Religions have commandments.
Australia already has its values – and I believe they should be:
- Enshrined in law;
- Displayed in government buildings and public institutions;
- Used as the moral and ethical charter against which laws, decisions, and actions are measured; and
- Form a clear basis for accountability – including removal or deportation where those values are fundamentally rejected or violated.
These values are not about religion or ideology.
They cut across religion, culture, and background. They are about people and purpose – not prophets or politics.
They include freedom of religion – but not before commitment to the rule of law, and respect for the freedom and dignity of the individual.
What we are seeing now – politicians fumbling for words, grasping at policy responses, defaulting to symbolic gestures or rushed fixes – is what happens when leaders are not anchored in clear, shared values. Many likely don’t even know these values already exist.
Agreed values must be known, communicated, understood, accepted – and enforced.
Tragedies like Bondi also expose bias – particularly political bias. It hasn’t taken long to see people using this moment to attack.
To be clear: I don’t care much for Anthony Albanese at all.
But pretending that any Prime Minister is personally responsible for every failure across years of policy, bureaucracy, intelligence, policing, and licensing decisions is a bit of a stretch. His failures in leadership, however, are not.
If we are serious about preventing this from happening again, then we need to examine the entire chain – honestly and without fear.
That means asking how:
- An individual could be placed on a terrorism watch-list in 2019;
- Yet remain within the system without effective intervention;
- And how, despite that, a direct family member – his Father – could later be granted a firearms licence.
Those questions matter because risk does not exist in isolation.
Accountability doesn’t stop at the front counter.
It runs through agencies, information-sharing, assessment frameworks, leadership, oversight, and ultimately all the way up.
Before rushing to impose broad new restrictions on millions of law-abiding Australians, we should first identify where the system failed, who made those decisions, and why – and then hold those responsible properly to account.
Anything less is politics, not leadership.
Finally, a word of caution.
In the aftermath of violence, vultures appear – in media, in politics and online. Trauma becomes a tool. Fear becomes currency. Division becomes profitable.
We owe the victims and their families more than noise.
We owe them clarity, responsibility, and courage.
That starts – and ends – with values.
Sincerely,
Heston |
by CAA | Dec 8, 2025 | Family Violence, Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues, Violence
A recent article we published by Bettina Arndt shines a light on a subject that police administrations have avoided for a very long time, from three critical perspectives.
Primarily, the adverse impact on genuine victims of domestic violence and secondly, the effect on police themselves, plus the overall impact on the community that suffers from reduced police capacity to deal with many other community issues that are far more serious than two people working through a period of acrimony.
The first change that must be made is to categorise these conflicts as a two-tier response.
For disputes involving violence, and the police can establish evidence to support any claims of Domestic Violence (DV), then that is a Level 1 issue. If there is no corroborating evidence of violence, then the matter is Domestic Acrimony (DA) Level 2. Only in exceptional circumstances is an incident reported to the Police to be categorised as Level 1 without some mitigating evidence.
There needs to be an urgent change in the language around these matters so that valuable Police resources are not wasted.
Police who are sworn to do their duty can exercise discretion in all matters and must therefore be able to decide the category of the incident under investigation. Unless there is compelling and additional evidence forthcoming after the police’s on-scene classification, that classification must not be altered by administrative processes.
This interference in the front-line Police function must not occur.
The problems we as a community face with these issues start with the title ‘Domestic Violence’ or DV.
This has now morphed into any dispute between any individuals in a domestic setting. The ‘Violence’ part of the title is the problem and creates the false illusion that every dispute involves Violence, and that is an abhorrent manipulation of the facts.
It has also created a false narrative around the problem, leading to preconceived perceptions treated as fact, unchallenged and therefore untested, resulting in poor justice outcomes for all parties.
Amongst the most detrimental aspects to actual victims of violence is that allegations in the domestic setting are accepted, and whatever the complainant states is taken as fact without challenge.
When it is obvious to attending Police that there are doubts about the allegations (lack of supporting evidence of the claims made), they should be able to exercise their discretion and downgrade the call to the Domestic Acrimony (DA) in the initial stage of Police intervention.
The police function is to preserve the peace and bring criminals before the courts. Not applying sanctions to individuals on untested allegations, which the current approach requires.
Police are cognisant of the Law and the legal framework they work within/requiring them to perform their task in accordance with protocols that effectively deny them the ability to investigate a matter before applying sanctions on the alleged aggressor, is counterintuitive.
Unless there is evidence to support the claims made by either party alleging Violence, the guilt requiring any sanction must be resolved by the Courts on the evidence, not by the Police.
If that means introducing a 24/7 Family Court system in the interest of Justice, this must be done.
There are many nuances to the issue of responsibility and function of policing, resolving Domestic conflict should not be one of them. We don’t expect police to repair a car that is stolen or a window broken by criminal activity, nor should they act as counsellors.
The function of conciliation, or resolving a dispute, is within the purview of other professionals who are trained and capable of achieving an outcome for the parties involved.
The current approach of referrals, etc, does little to help resolve the issues between the parties. The clinicians are operating in a void, lacking important information, only gained by dealing with these people at the time of the conflict, not days or weeks later, when both parties have had the chance to convince themselves of their role and ingrain the acrimony that exists, from their perspective, which may differ from the facts.
There has been an industry that has evolved to serve the needs of individuals involved in domestic issues. It is time that those in the industry ventured outside their offices and attended the scenes of Domestic dispute calls when they are happening, so they may have a better chance of understanding the reality. Their early intervention will lead to better outcomes for the participants.
There are serious doubts that the current system is working in the best interest of the parties and the community.
The following actions will help improve the current situation.
- Instigate a 24/7 Family Court system available to Police to refer matters they are dealing with for Court-imposed directions and sanctions.
- Family Courts must have the capacity, within certain circumstances, and where warranted, issue a direction that an electronic monitoring device be worn by the alleged aggressor (Ankle bracelets).
- If a party declines to follow the court-imposed rules, the courts can upgrade the case to Level 1 and, with that, apply more restrictive sanctions.
- Add the title of Domestic Acrimony (DA) as a level 2 event as opposed to Domestic Violence (DV), a level 1 priority.
- Review the administration required by the Police for a level 2 incident, and only the essential components applied.
- In all Domestic incidents, Police must only complete the administration that is relevant to the Police function, and if other agencies require information, then they must collect it.
- As a matter of course, where a complainant provides false evidence in reporting an incident, they must be prosecuted for ‘making a false report’. A warning must be issued about this possibility before any action is taken.
- The issue of domestic violence or acrimony involving Police members must be reviewed. The dispute, when private and not Police-related, should be treated as any other private incident.
- Critically achieve early intervention by professionals.
- Calls to Police for assistance must be triaged by professionals into either of the two categories to give the Police a chance to respond according to need.
- Develop an advertising campaign to inform people of the consequences of domestic disputes getting out of hand or becoming violent. (Currently, no effort is made regarding prevention.)
- Introduce DART (Domestic Acrimony Response Teams). A response capacity following the very effective CATT teams model used by Psychiatric Units in hospitals throughout Melbourne. Achieving a DART response would reduce the likelihood of Level 2 Incidents from escalating to Level 1.
- Require agencies working in the domestic space to provide resources to create a 24/7 Domestic Acrimony Response Team (DART).
- The priority for DART is to attend any domestic situation where children are present to minimise the impact on the children and ensure their safety.
Anybody who has witnessed CATT in action will attest to the successes in their ability to de-escalate people suffering psychotic episodes, and there is no question that in a highly charged domestic situation, the participants in a Domestic dispute can be having a psychotic episode without necessarily suffering from a Psychiatric disorder. Therefore, there may be a crossover with the CATT function.
The CATT Teams achieve better outcomes for patients and their families than the Police can ever hope to, or be expected to accomplish in the psychiatric space, and those outcomes would flow over to the Domestic space.
Police can’t be trained up to perform the tasks that the professionals have mastered over many years, and neither should they, as the normal scope of Police work, enforcing the Law, is not conducive to a conciliation function.
The function of the Police in separating or reducing physical violence as it happens is a counterintuitive skill set compared to conciliation.
Victoria Police attend over 100,000 family violence incidents annually, with the most recent data showing 102,082 incidents were recorded in the 12 months ending December 2024.
This equates to police attending a family violence incident around every six minutes in Victoria. Or about 300 per day, which equates to approximately 600 police taken from other duties per day, but this does not include the many hours the members must undertake to follow up on administrative work post-event.
The number of reported incidents has been steadily increasing over the past decade, partly due to increased public awareness and improved police recording practices ( which translates into a growth of paperwork of questionable necessity).
The issue revolves around the Police role and the unnecessary (for policing) functions foisted on them. If there is no risk or minimal risk of violence, then the Police should get out of the way and let professionals do their job.
Box-ticking administration serves no good purpose and is not a good use of Police resources; these tasks can probably be done over the phone by another agency. Police can forward the participant’s phone number to the attending agency for attention.
Activists involved in this area have been agitating for the police to undertake more de-escalation and other psychiatric training to handle domestic situations.
When fists are flying, de-escalation is moot.
We would argue that the Police need to stick to their knitting, and that all the experts and others who make up the support industry for Domestic incidents get out of their cushy nine-to-five work environments, to get where the rubber hits the road, and take the load off the Police.
This will have an enormously positive impact on the frequency and seriousness of Domestic violence incidents and improve the overall community compliance with the Law.
More importantly, it will have a very positive influence on the ability to achieve a settlement of the acrimony amongst parties between the ‘blow up’ and the attempt at resolution; time is the greatest enemy.
The chances of a resolution, or at least a workable peace, deteriorate rapidly as the parties’ attitudes become entrenched over time; early intervention is essential.
Circumstances for violent offenders do not change, with the exception that they can be brought before a Court much earlier than would be the case in other circumstances. Dealing with these individuals early also reduces the risks to the victim.
We are aware of a number of incidents where false allegations against Police in their Domestic setting have ended careers and seen innocent parties sanctioned severely without any recourse.
The number of Police officers who become involved in their own Domestic Acrimony is minuscule when viewed from the overall numeric size of the community (Over 100,000 DV incidents reported per annum), which raises an important question that demands action to review the status quo.
Comparing the number of Police falsely accused of violence to the number of civilians who have been processed for DV would suggest that the number of civilians who have been processed and sanctioned who are innocent must be truly staggering.
“It is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer”
– Sir William Blackstone
The underlying principle is that convicting an innocent person is considered a far greater injustice than failing to punish someone who is guilty.
by CAA | Dec 6, 2025 | Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
Plus, how domestic violence is destroying our police force – author Pettina Arndt 
Some months ago, Australia’s most senior judge, Chief Justice Stephen Gageler, warned of a global diminution of trust in institutions, including our courts, which he said were portrayed as “partisan, political institutions.”
Speaking at a West Australian legal event, he advised the judiciary to “stick to their knitting, and only do law, and to do it in a very distinct way according to orthodox legal method.”
There’s another critical part of our judicial system where members would love to stick to their knitting, and that’s our Police Force. Our law enforcement agencies are in trouble, losing increasing numbers of officers and struggling with recruitment, as police officers across the country complain about frustration and burnout.
The force has been hijacked. Police now find themselves working for a partisan political institution devoted to feminist ideology and involved in policing that largely has nothing to do with keeping people safe. Rather, this vital institution promotes an agenda that labels marital acrimony as domestic violence and enlists the force in the ongoing war on men.
Most police want only to return to their knitting. They want to fight crime. But police authorities are catering to the whims of politicians and the media, who are determined to keep police on the front line of their gender wars.
“The system is broken. Police face an impossible situation. Officers are caught between political pressure, risk-averse policy, and media narratives that punish them no matter which way they respond. It is no wonder so many leave the job.”
The speaker knows all about these pressures. He’s a former Detective Senior Constable who spent 15 years with the Victorian police trying to walk this tightrope. Ironically, his initial troubles stemmed from a period where he was under severe stress because the unit where he was working was totally gutted, as staff were moved to newly created domestic violence teams. The strain of doing his job in the understaffed unit had such an impact on his mental health that he burnt out and required a period of leave to recover. All this ultimately led to the disintegration of his marriage.
He then found himself on the receiving end of precisely the type of allegation he’d been policing for so many years. His wife enlisted the help of some former colleagues to lodge false violence allegations, which ended up not only driving him out of his job but also out of the state, as she set up breaches of her protective violence order, which could result in him being sent to prison.
I’ve made a podcast with this former cop – I’ve called him “Adrian”. We also included an ex-police officer from NSW who has an equally horrendous story of fighting false allegations. These two men represent the dozens of police officers who have contacted me over the years who have been wrongly accused, including some still in the force and too nervous to be interviewed.
Compelling stories told by the true victims at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR0BhvXtszY&t=5s
Here are the ultimate witnesses to a system on its knees. They have first-hand experience of the immense damage being caused to our justice system by incentivising false, unchallenged allegations which provide women – and it is almost always women – with unparalleled power to drive a former partner out of their lives and those of their children.
These former police officers’ discussions with me show how false allegations are tearing apart the social fabric of Australia and undermining the credibility and professionalism of our police services.
All this passes unnoticed in our culture with its feminist-controlled media, blinkered politicians and people in power all determined to pretend it isn’t happening. It is disgraceful that our media and politicians rant about the struggle police are having in controlling violent house invasions and adolescent gangs in Victoria and Queensland, without a word about the dangerous diversion of resources to policing false and trivial domestic violence matters. What a farce.
So, what do these falsely accused officers reveal about our troubled police forces?
One striking moment in our conversation was Adrian speaking with great enthusiasm about an earlier point in his career where he was required to attend extra training in a domestic violence risk assessment system being implemented in the Victorian police force. He was so hopeful that this new system would allow police to do proper evaluations of violence allegations to determine the truth. But instead, he found himself caught up in the current tick-a-box system, which totally ignores an alleged perpetrator’s side of the story.
The ultimate irony was that when some of his colleagues helped his wife embellish allegations she was making against him, they drew on examples taken from their domestic violence training manual to create truly horrendous accusations about his behaviour.
The other ex-cop who was part of our discussion – I called him “Liam” – also had harrowing tales of a wife who made various historic assault accusations against him. When police were called, the investigating officer initially told him that he’d determined the allegations were false and that he would have them withdrawn. But when this officer returned to his police station, he was overruled by senior officers who said that because Liam was a former police officer, he had to be held to a higher standard. He was charged with four counts of domestic violence assault dating back 8 years.
Eventually, the matter was heard in court, and the allegations were dismissed by a very experienced magistrate who was scathing about the charges, saying that they were clearly designed to gain advantage in a family law matter and should never have ended up in court. They were dismissed due to insufficient evidence, with costs made against the police force.
The very next day, Liam’s ex-wife went back to the same police station and made new allegations, which led to another protective order. That too was ultimately dismissed, but only after the violence order had influenced family court proceedings, denying him contact with his children. Liam is currently involved in a malicious prosecution case against the NSW police. (He’s part of an organisation called Kilo4Delta, which has ambitious plans for change, including a malicious prosecution class action.)
Both men are aware of many other cases of officers who have been similarly falsely accused. I’ve been talking to another NSW officer still in the force, who was married to a very violent woman who regularly threatened to destroy his career with rape and violence allegations and to make sure he never saw his son again. Once, he ended up having stitches in the hospital after she threw a wine glass at him.
When they eventually split up, it turned out she had been reporting to domestic violence services that he had been physically and sexually abusive during their marriage. She made a report to police claiming he had threatened her with his work firearm, but he was luckily able to disprove this with video recordings from his phone and home security.
Since he was able to document her years of violence, threats and false allegations, there was such overwhelming evidence against her that she was eventually charged and convicted of a string of offences, and he ended up with custody of his son (after paying crippling legal fees using his inheritance.)
But his case is unusual. As Liam and Adrian explain, most police officers lose their careers after false allegations, with management keen to be seen as tough on rogue members.
Of course, our media loves stories of police officers as wife abusers. Just look at this breathless report from The Guardian, gloating that an investigation had revealed “11 NSW officers had been investigated for domestic violence, in some cases more than once!” Never any suggestion that any of these allegations could have been false.
Yet on the rare occasions police dare speak out about the issue, the truth sometimes emerges. “We receive multiple false claims per year against our officers, which halts their careers and requires significant resources for defence,” said Queensland lawyer Calvin Gnech, speaking at a Senate Inquiry into domestic violence. Gnech had been doing work for the Queensland Police Union for over a decade.
Recently, there has been some welcome resistance emerging in police management, with some prepared to point out that the current swamping of proper police work is unsustainable.
Domestic violence case management is not “core business” of police, declared Queensland’s Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy at a press conference last July, announcing the findings of a 100 Day review into police operations and structure. He warned that DV is contributing to “significant mission creep” as police are forced to take on roles for which they are untrained. Besides, he added bravely, “Most Queenslanders would expect the police service to be the frontline response to violent crime.” This is a very welcome acknowledgement that policing domestic violence rarely has anything to do with genuine violent crime.
Last year an article “Law Enforcement and Public Health” in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice compared policing in Australia to Canada and the UK, and noted Australia’s framing of domestic violence as a “wicked problem” which requires comprehensive police-led interventions, leading to heavier police reliance for holistic support and diverting time from acute enforcement to non-priority tasks like counselling. The other countries use more integrated interagency models (e.g., co-responder teams with health professionals), which mitigate police strain.
The evidence of a police force in trouble is overwhelming:
- Across Australia, there are more than 4,500 vacancies for police officers.
- Queensland faces its worst officer exodus in five years, leaving nearly 1400 positions unfilled across the state.
- Police Federation of Australia CEO Scott Weber said the shortage was ‘the worst I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of policing’.
- The Queensland Police Union president, Shane Prior, confirmed that DV workload is “directly correlated” to officers leaving the force.
- A study of 492,393 DV events in NSW Police reports found that emotional or/verbal abuse was the most commonly recorded abuse type (33.46% of events).
- Each DV incident takes frontline officers between 4 and 6 hours to resolve.
- A study of Australian frontline officers showed DV-specific stress as a likely contributor to burnout.
- It is mainly mid-career, experienced males who are leaving the force, to be replaced by young women.
Recently, The Guardian did a major promotion of a two-year investigation into police domestic violence enforcement failures, claiming the force isn’t doing enough to protect women in trouble.
It’s certainly true that police sometimes under-respond to genuine domestic violence, responds Adrian. But he points out such media stories completely ignore the other side of the story – the over-response to allegations that are false, exaggerated or simply normal family dynamics reframed as abuse.
That over-response is inevitable in a policing culture shaped by pressure, politics and ideology. It’s crippling our police force and diverting help from those who need it most.
Campaigns by feminist groups, often bordering on the hysterical, ensure that the captured media and many politicians put unwarranted pressure on our senior police to devote increasing resources to domestic violence. This is having a very unhealthy effect on the independence of our police, who feel pressured to devote scarce resources to an exaggerated problem, rather than prioritising those resources as they see fit.
We need our police forces to prioritise the most serious crimes. Domestic violence allegations, which are often based on trivial behaviour or are fabricated, are NOT our most serious criminal threat.
We must demand an end to this ideological crusade and a return to proper policing.
by CAA | Nov 30, 2025 | Family Violence, Illicit Drugs, Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues, Violence, Youth, Youth Crime
For many years, the issue of when a child can commit a crime has been quietly ticking away, but now the Government has stepped in, as they always do, and changed a system that had flaws; instead of fixing them, they have exacerbated them.
In 2024, the Government lifted the age of criminal responsibility, Doli Incapax, to 12 years, meaning children aged 10 and 11 could no longer be held criminally responsible.
Now the chickens have come home to roost with an 11-year-old armed with a kitchen knife, an edged weapon, and an imitation firearm, entering another classroom at a Primary School and injuring an 8-year-old child and a teacher with the knife. As reported in the Herald Sun, 29th of November 2025.
The 11-year-old apparently stormed a grade 1 classroom, making threats.
If that is accurate, it is tough to argue that the 11-year-old didn’t know his action was criminal.
The aggravating factor is that the 11-year-old was carrying a kitchen knife, so he was undoubtedly intending to storm another class, demonstrating an element of planning and premeditation well before the incident.
This was not some schoolyard tiff that got out of hand, but a deliberate, thought-out attack.
The problem is not as narrow as dealing with a young child, but rather that the Courts need to play a role to ensure that the child is put on the right path.
Simply sending a child who has committed what would otherwise be a crime on their way without a hint of a sanction is tantamount to giving them a free ticket, rewarding bad behaviour.
In these circumstances, not only is the 8-year-old a victim, but so is the 11-year-old, a victim of a poor legislative approach to the handling of juvenile crime.
There is a desperate need, at a minimum, to revert to the age provisions previously in place, whereby children between 10 and 14 can only be charged if they understand the criminality they have committed, and if they do not, ask why not?
Removing the 10-year-old limit would be very positive for the child as well as society. Removing the lower restrictions to allow the courts to decide, on a case-by-case basis, and on the evidence, and independently resolve whether the doctrine of Doli Incapax applies in that particular case. This resolves the flawed one-size-fits-all approach.
This would allow the court to make orders to protect the child, if necessary, as well as test whether the child knew what they were doing was criminal.
There was once a provision for dealing with children who were likely to lapse into a life of vice or crime. It might be a good time to resurrect such a provision.
The development of our younger generation now makes them better informed and more mature than that of their peers 20 years ago, but we are raising the age of criminality rather than lowering it, which would be more practical.
Allowing anybody of any age, but particularly young people, a free ride to flaunt the law and commit heinous crimes, which this 11-year-old did, is a recipe for disaster, promoting the idea that crime is free from sanctions, which therefore loses its deterrent effect.
The chance of this 11-year-old ending up on the end of a machete is real; it will be sheer luck which end he ends up on.
We need to remember that a child of any age can swing an edged weapon – the weapon does not discriminate by age.
The legal concept of Doli Incapax is surely outdated. Ten-year-olds should have had four or five years of schooling. If they have not received education on the evils of criminal behaviour by then, it is a sad indictment of their parents and particularly of the education system.
by CAA | Nov 26, 2025 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
The headline in the Herald Sun, 25th November 2025, our Premier Jacinta Allan says, ‘ – government’s crime crackdown ‘sending a clear message that sentences need to be longer’.
This rhetoric is ‘smoke and mirrors’ and very unlikely to bring about a change in sentencing levels for Victorian Courts, because Courts, thankfully, should not operate on the whim of the elected Government of the day, as that would be totalitarianism, but on precedent and any variations to legislation.
The Premier’s statements are also an admission that the Government has made major mistakes, as this Government is responsible for the appointment of all the judiciary over the past decade, so they are reaping what they sow.
Many of the worst decisions reported have been made by this government’s judicial appointees. So they need to fix the problem of their making.
We know of no empirical data supporting the theory that criminals will not offend, knowing that the sentence for the crime they are about to commit has increased.
For that matter, I defy anybody to find a criminal who knows the penalty for any crime; responsibility is not their strong suit.
The Spring St boffins fail to realise that crooks, no matter how dumb their actions may seem, do not commit a crime if they think they are going to get caught, and that is the only matrix that matters or influences them.
The Allan approach presupposes that crooks gather for a pre-crime meeting to discuss the penalties they may face conducting a SWAT Analysis before deciding what crime to commit – give us a break.
Have they not heard of institutionalisation? A complex issue, but critically, the time factor of the period somebody is held against their will, like jail, will become time-irrelevant very quickly.
Whether a criminal gets four years or six matters little and has no influence on the likelihood of recidivism or on other criminals considering the same behaviour.
The victim may gain some solace, but that’s about it, and the extra jail time just becomes a financial burden on the State, requiring not only more prison beds but all the infrastructure and operating costs associated with the increased time served, and we, the community, including the victims, have to pay for that.
This should be electoral suicide for any Government, particularly given Victoria’s perilous budget deficit.
The only substantial argument for an extended sentencing regime, if it were workable in the Courts, and we argue it is not, is to afford a longer period of protection for the community, which coincidentally costs us all a bomb.
Sentencing must be related to the evidence of the crime put before the Court.
We do, however, strongly believe that Courts have deliberately flaunted the power they possess to act as social engineers instead of sticking to their knitting, dispensing justice, not just for the accused, but the community as a whole.
The answer to the crime tsunami is to provide sufficient police to not only arrest and capture offenders but also to implement a strong, high-visibility deterrence presence to mitigate criminal opportunity.
This, coupled with a serious proactive Force culture, will start to make inroads as soon as it is implemented, and we are confident that the new Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has the capacity, knowledge and skills to drive this change.
Additionally, fortunately, there is still a very high percentage of serving police who would share this view; all they need is to be unshackled from the medieval attitudes the Force has developed under a series of poor leaders.
Long-term sentencing does little to stop crime; however, failure by the courts, which seem reluctant to jail accused offenders, feeds into the adage that ‘crime pays’, and while that exists, there is no hope of a reduction.
We oppose draconian sentencing but support the nuanced use of Prison as a major crime reduction initiative. It matters little the criminals’ age; numerically greater use of the Prison system is what’s required.
Remember, every time an accused at any age walks out after facing Court and being convicted, irrespective of what they may have been sentenced to, or what orders are placed on them, the walking out from court, of itself, is perceived as a win for the crook, and something to brag about, further building confidence in the criminal class that consequences for crime don’t exist.
Even in these austere times, the Government must prioritise the financial support for Policing because unless we have a well-funded and equipped Force pursuing the correct ideals of ‘best practice’ Policing, nothing will change and everybody in this state is mightily aware that they may be the next victim.
As far as the Courts are concerned, the Government would do a whole lot better, rather than making hollow headlines, by focusing on establishing a Judicial Review Panel that has the power to manage Jurists based on performance and effectiveness.
This must be an attractive proposition for a Government that has failed in the Law and Order space; shift blame to the Panel.
The administration of the Court system is inefficient and not fit for purpose, with extraordinary delays denying justice to both Victims and accused. By the time an accused is fully processed by the Courts, many have continued their criminal ways and subjected the community to untold grief – that is Justice denied.
A Justice Panel could identify underperforming and inefficient Jurists, provide guidance, and, if necessary, impose sanctions to ensure the system becomes efficient; establish processing benchmarks; identify flaws in the system; and determine whether the problem lies with the administration or Jurists’ performance.
Similarly, an efficient and professional justice system will reduce crime, equally as well as the support for the Police in bringing perpetrators to the Court system.
by CAA | Nov 24, 2025 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
We do not profess to know all the answers, but our life skills have taught us a few worthwhile ones, particularly in the youth space.
Early intervention is a significant priority, but perhaps more important, and effective, is the development of pathways that are productive for young people as they start to mature, rather than having their lives controlled by Government bureaucratic edicts.
The pathways, if managed correctly, should encourage young people to start making constructive choices for themselves. When we say ‘managed,’ we mean the Government generally stepping back and allowing young people space to resolve their own issues.
Although parents have a vital role and a responsibility in encouraging their children to adopt a worthwhile path, they cannot and should not live their lives through their children. It is the child’s life, not the parents.
An article in the Herald Sun on the 23rd of November 25, titled ‘Half of students miss a month of school amid fears it is irrelevant,’ goes a long way to explain what is really happening to our youth.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/education/half-of-students-miss-a-month-of-school
We have been critical of the schools sending children home for misbehaviour, which, in our view, is a major contributor to the development of anti-social and criminal behaviour in our young.
This process is triggered predominantly by minor behavioural infractions and, on occasion, by incidents not the student’s fault.
This send-them-home option is a relatively new concept, as schools in the past have dealt with these minor infractions in-house without abdicating responsibility and leaving students to their own devices. In this context, it is not a contradiction to provide pathways.
There appears to be no effective management of this discipline process, and our information is that when children are sent home, it is problematic whether the parent/s are aware, unless the child informs them.
So much for families with parents who must work to support them and rely on schools to care for their children while they are being educated.
Schools that adopt this approach are abdicating their responsibility and may need a civil case to wake the system up to its failings.
Until the research in this HS article was made public, we have been at a loss to identify just where the problems lay. We know that children are not born with antisocial and criminal tendencies, which are learned behaviours, and it appears now that the research in that article points clearly to the culprit that teaches them – their misdirected education.
It generally boils down to the education we are foisting on our young being irrelevant to the skill sets they see as necessary to run their lives, and they have an excellent argument.
We continually hear from educators that their curriculum is overfull, so they can’t add to it, but that assumes that the curriculum is relevant. Relevance to those for whom the education is being delivered is essential – but, clearly, much of it is not in the eyes of many students.
Removing ideological material that has found its way into the curriculum must be the first action, and then the rest of the curriculum benchmarked against the needs of our youth. That purge must be brutal.
“It just feels like we’re not being taught how to handle our finances properly,” Sarah said. “We’re not being taught how to save, invest, manage our bank accounts or file our taxes. That’s something you’ve really gotta figure out on your own.”
–Sarah, 17 years reflecting on her views when she was 14 years old.
To this point, you may wonder the relevance of this material to our core direction, law and order.
Suppose you are going to teach children irrelevant material, send them home for minor infractions and fail to engage the pupils. In that case, it very quickly becomes a life of boredom and failure for the pupil, and the more bored they become, the more disruptive they are, and more often they are sent home.
Taking time off from school is the go-to solution that the school teaches them.
All this time at home can accumulate very rapidly and lead to increased boredom. Life becomes less relevant, so they seek solutions in very unhelpful ways – crime, self-harm, addictions and inappropriate social interactions become the only way to achieve a sense of fulfilment for them.
UNICEF Australia’s Chief Advocate for Children, Nicole Breeze, said the report paints a stark picture.
“In a country like Australia, we have all the conditions and infrastructure to be the best place in the world for children to grow up,” Ms Breeze said. “It is unacceptable that suicide remains the leading cause of death for young Australians and that we are seeing persistent negative trends.”
What this all adds up to is the need for a ‘root and branch’ overhaul of our education system, and by that we are strongly opposed to a series of talk fests, more research, and academic papers arguing the rights and wrongs of the assertions we make, as the proof positive already exists.
The Report author, Megan O’Connell, from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, said the landmark report — published in the Herald Sun, developed with UNICEF Australia and supported by the Minderoo Foundation — found an increasing number of kids feel school is not providing them with the skills that they need for their future.
The problem needs to be addressed urgently, as there is no time to waste on procrastination and blame-shifting.
The government must issue an edict for action to Tony Bates, the Secretary of the Department of Education in Victoria, who was appointed in August 2025.
The edict must, without equivocation, direct that this issue must be addressed urgently for two reasons: we can’t afford to have one more child exposed to this failed system, and the responsibility lies at the feet of the Director and any inaction at the feet of the Education Minister.
If the Director can’t or won’t fix it, then he should be replaced, as should any other executive within the Education Department who does not fall into line.
What must be achieved is curriculum variation to remove ideological material and replace it with the skills required by young people. These skills can be life-based or designed to equip them for further education.
In relation to behaviour, the practice of sending young people home must be discontinued without exception, and to achieve a reasonable standard of behaviour, the Police in Schools Program must be urgently reintroduced to help schools address misbehaviour and provide students with a safe school environment and life skills to live harmoniously within the community.
All schools must also be required have and enforce a Code of Conduct.
There can be no excuses for inaction, as these changes will have no impact on the State’s fiscal demise.
Additionally, young people’s ability to join the workforce or further their academic studies must not be hindered by ‘the system’.
Currently, young people cannot enter an apprenticeship until they are aged 16, and if they work before then, they can only do 20 hours a week. From an academic perspective, the schools make students feel that if they can’t excel in academia, then they are a failure.
It is past time for the Government to repeal these rules and move out of the way.
This one-size-fits-all approach is badly flawed, and it should be left to employers to judge the suitability of an applicant, the applicant’s parents, and the child.
Opportunities for young people to re-enter the education system without penalty must be well promoted.
This is particularly true of age-relevant life skills. Young people are better equipped to enter the workforce physically and mentally at a far younger age than when these rules were designed and applied.
Better to be at work learning rather than at school marking time, causing havoc.
Unblocking Pathways is the key.
by CAA | Nov 15, 2025 | Library, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
The Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt was reported in the Herald Sun on the 16th of November under the heading ‘Police union boss Wayne Gatt slams 90-day summer operation as ‘brain fart’ amid struggle to fight crime’, which is somewhat of a surprise and disappointing for a respected Union.
Later in the article, Gatt said, “while the union did not in principle oppose the potential of the moves, there were concerns about ‘a lack of detail or thought or planning”.
So what was he on about, accusing the Chief of a ‘Brain Fart’?
That seems like a euphemism for, “Why wasn’t I told?” Obviously, the Union was told so that Gatt was able to relay the Union’s views.
Perhaps this is more about Gatt’s influence fading.
Criticising the Government, Gatt also failed to be aware of the circumstances, such as the reorganisation of resources and the introduction of reservists, which had been devised by the Chief and the Minister, advised. But that may have been more to do with masking his derogatory reference to the Chief.
Gatt may like to explain why putting more people on the street is reckless and what the ‘dependencies’ he is referring to are.
Mr Gatt would be well advised also to start leading and creating innovative ideas on how to reduce the crime rate, rather than promoting “lack of detail or thought or planning”. That, together with his issue of consultations, won’t help the community at all. Bush’s action will help immediately, and that’s what the community wants.
But to the nub of the matter, the allocation of resources is a matter for the Chief Commissioner.
Bush has read the room correctly, and for Gatt to accuse the Chief of a “Brain Fart” is disingenuous and disrespectful to his office; to have Gatt slight him in this manner requires an apology.
The Chief is demonstrating leadership that has been lacking in a string of previous Chief Commissioners, so the Association will have to get used to the idea that the Force now has a leader. And they should treat him with respect.
These initiatives, supported by the CAA, are going to be welcomed by the community, as up until now, and apart from platitudes, every time there is a serious community issue raised about crime, nothing changes in VicPol, and the community has long tired of ‘More patrols’ knowing they may get some. Still, it will be a splash in the pan and not address the real issues they are dealing with.
Bush’s move to more proactive policing is also welcome, as preventing crime must be the primary function of any Police Force and a strategy more likely to be embraced by the community than ‘more police’. Interestingly, those who push the more police mantra rarely give any insight into what that means, what will be achieved and when.
It will literally take years to bring the force up to full strength, so the use of reservists is a very clever move to free additional police to provide the public with a better police service and reduce the crime rate.
Critics of the use of Reservists should read this comment from the CAA Website by a former member who was medically discharged.
“I already volunteer as a Justice Peace at the reception counter of my local 24 HR police station? Other unofficial duties in the absence of sworn uniform members include signing in those reporting on bail, compiling VicPol property forms & taking property over the counter, general police advice, and taking messages for members. You never forget your training & previous knowledge base. I was ESSS Discharged, pensioned out of my job with a spinal injury. Not ready to retire yet, so will happily return as a paid VPS1 or reservist part-time!!”
We are aware of many former members who would like to be considered for involvement in a Reserve program.
There would also be hundreds of former members who left their police careers to raise their families, and when their families grew up, would jump at the chance for a Reservist position.
Their life experiences make them a valuable asset if they can be encouraged to return.
The sad part of this announcement is that where you would expect the Police Association to support the initiative and encourage Reservists to rejoin that organisation, instead, they have all been insulted, being classified as a ‘Brain Fart’ that will be remembered as Gatt’s Gaff.
by CAA | Nov 11, 2025 | Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
Some time ago (2017), the CAA presented a solution to the ever-increasing rate of vehicle thefts and the enormous cost this imposes on all of society, and that is apart from the huge danger this behaviour creates.
The only reaction was a half-baked pilot that did not work and, in our view, was designed to fail as the then Chief Commissioner had a negative fixation on the CAA, for reasons we have no idea.
The problem of car thefts is not just some kids joyriding, and that would be bad enough, but the thefts are also a key part of the criminal activity in this state.
There is little serious crime undertaken without the involvement of sometimes multiple stolen cars, and the majority are then burnt, costing society millions upon millions, not to mention the hardship on the owner, the other victims.
Reduce access to the mobility offered to criminals by cars and reduce the crime rate.
All these cars, stolen and often driven by inexperienced individuals, pose an unacceptable risk to the Police and the community at large.
The solution is to remove the ability of cars to be a useful tool for crooks and joyriders.
To enable the Police to shut down a stolen vehicle, temporarily, or for that matter any other vehicle involved in a criminal endeavour putting the community in danger, is technically possible, so the reluctance of Victoria Police to embrace this technology is a blight on their sworn duty, preventing crime.
The problem is that implementing a system is complex, but well-managed; it should not be cost-prohibitive to the State.
It can be implemented in stages to spread costs and promote community acceptance.
The concept of a G-Tag was launched by the CAA in 2016 at https://caainc.org.au/the-g-tag-a-new-paradigm-in-community-safety/?doing_wp_cron=1762724424.3639779090881347656250
CAA G-Tag is a proposed community safety initiative by the Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) for a vehicle tracking and disabling system. The ‘G-Tag’ sticker on a car window identifies that the vehicle can allow police to remotely disable a stolen vehicle, putting it into “limp home mode” to prevent high-speed chases. The proposal includes measures for data privacy, with police as the sole operators and strict security for data storage.
How it would work
- Anti-theft: When a car is stolen, a G-Tag would allow police to track and disable it.
- Remote disabling: The system could initially reduce the vehicle’s speed to 80 KPH and then safely disable the engine.
- Police coordination: The police could use the system to coordinate the interception of a stolen vehicle.
- Privacy safeguards: The system would have built-in safeguards to protect individual privacy, with tracking only on targeted vehicles, data having an expiry date, and strict penalties for unauthorised data release.
- Data security: Data would be encrypted and accessible only to sworn police officers.
Benefits
- Deterring crime: The presence of the sticker could deter thieves from targeting vehicles equipped with the system.
- Reducing evidence destruction: Thieves would have less opportunity to torch the vehicle to destroy forensic evidence.
- Assisting in welfare checks: The system could be used to locate missing persons or overdue travellers to check their welfare.
- The value of this system for National security to deter or intercept terrorists cannot be underestimated.
- Vehicles manufactured offshore could then be managed, should a rogue nation try to use them to breach National Security.
It will take some time to equip the 5 million vehicles in this state, but the cost per vehicle will be a couple of hundred dollars and should be borne by the owner.
Most new vehicles delivered in recent years would have the capacity, and an amendment to the Australian Vehicle Standards would deal with the new vehicles. For the public to take up the initiative, the incentive of the window sticker would help, as would making the G-Tag a necessary part of a vehicle’s roadworthiness. Insurance companies stand to benefit, and negotiating an offer to vehicle owners would be an excellent marketing tool for them and the G-Tag.
Damming figures may be Police Chase Chaos, but doing nothing to address the problem is irresponsible.
by CAA | Nov 8, 2025 | Blue Light, Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
Starting where the rubber hits the road, Chief Commissioner Bush has implemented a Force-wide edict reversing a policy that has not worked and has been persevered with for years without empirical data to support its retention, exacerbated by the current lack of Force numbers.
The Minimum Police Station staffing policy, we suspect, was conceived within the upper echelons of the Force, far removed from the practical, real-world policing issues faced by police daily and the operational variables between one police station and any other.
An adverse byproduct of a bloated bureaucracy and a clear demonstration of why the one-size-fits-all approach is a failure.
Exposing these types of policy decisions gives an insight into the organisational failure that has plagued VicPol for years.
Running the ‘Oh my god’, ‘Close a Police Station?’ is an alarmist mantra that is not helpful without understanding the reality of policing and the history of how this once great organisation has declined due to poor management at the highest level.
The Chiefs’ edict does not necessarily translate into mass Station closures; it is more about moving decision-making to the level that is best equipped, where managers can make sound calls to serve the community better.
The Chief has previously indicated his interest in using former Police to assist the organisation, and the role of manning the public face of a police station could well fall within that concept.
The value of a long-serving experienced police member would not only provide better service delivery but also provide a role model function for junior police at a station.
The Local Area Commander (LAC) is the key person best placed to make resource allocation decisions within their span of control in consultation with Station or Unit Commanders.
The LAC benefits from local knowledge and an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the resources under their command.
To be most effective, the move to loosen the bridle on LACs and give them flexibility will undoubtedly come with additional accountability for the performance of the area under their Command. This, in turn, will also require subordinate managers within this structure to take responsibility for the performance and accountability of their units.
Suppose a Police Station is not managing the prevention and detection of crime to the standard set by the LAC for their area of responsibility. In that case, the manager should be mentored and, if necessary, receive additional training. If that fails, they should find an alternative position they are capable of managing.
The same rules should be applied equally to all managers in the hierarchical linear system, including LACs.
Properly implemented, this move will free up managers and their support staff further up the Totem pole to be redeployed as their functions diminish.
The bloated hierarchy resulted from creating and throwing another Command and all the ancillary Command support staff at a problem to fix it, rather than pragmatic management strategies.
Examples of unnecessary Executive Commands, like the four Regional Commands, can be rationalised.
If LACs are working correctly, then one Regional and one metropolitan are all that are required. State and Emergency Command can be addressed by the regional Commander where the Disaster is occurring.
That alone would free up a large number of Police and support staff, sworn and unsworn, to reallocate to operations and operations support at a Station level.
The Family Violence Command requires a coordination Office only, not a Command, and serious work to identify non-police functions in this space will free up countless police.
There are a myriad of other areas that need severe pruning or reorganisation because subsequent executives lost sight of the Police role – serving the community, not a corporate monolith, and not creating poor justifications for perceived weaknesses in the Force’s performance by establishing more bureaucracy or more Police Quangos.
It seems Bush is on the right track.
Thankfully, the Rotation management system has been largely consigned to the WPB, where it should have always resided. However, the damage caused will linger for years as the generation of officers who were blooded in that process and deprived of a real opportunity to learn and showcase their capabilities move through the system.
Whether many of them can regain their Mojo is, unfortunately, moot.
A serious consideration of reintroducing the prerequisite for all Officers to complete the Officers Training College as a live-in training facility would be a good step, allowing for a course restructuring to train all Officers in the rebuilding of a positive Police culture.
As a live-in course, the students gain insight into their peer’s experiences and develop career-long bonds that will serve them well as they progress. Having the opportunity to evaluate their own capability compared to peers’ develops an essential skill-set for future leadership roles.
Reviewing the approach to Officer Training would equip the Force for the next millennium, producing a modern, capable team of Officers who can apply the Peelian principles in a contemporary environment. A tendency to move training to a more academic, university-style model has not served the Force or the State well.
It would be unrealistic to expect all Officers to embrace the concept of effective policing and its accompanying accountability component, given the conditions they experienced under various flawed management models and the equally flawed application of them.
Additional training would be a very reasonable approach.
Focusing on the LACs first for retraining would hasten the benefits to frontline members, where the need for change is most critical, for their benefit and the community, where improvements in Force service delivery will be felt most keenly.
by CAA | Nov 6, 2025 | Library, Media, Politics, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues
There is a lot of faux bluster and wringing of hands over the use of the Police Chopper by the Chief Commissioner Mike Bush in recent times, his trip to Tasmania and now a flight from Avalon to the Victoria Police Centre (VPC).
It has now been reported that he allegedly took his wife on a flight and committed the most grievous sin of allegedly laughing about the brouhaha of the Tasmania flight.
In the scheme of things, these issues are nothing but white noise, but there is an underlying sinister overtone.
At worst, the Chiefs’ use of the aircraft could be argued as him having a ‘tin ear’.
The last accusation of using an aircraft to return from Avlon was perhaps expedient, and it matters little whether the Chief was in the back seat of his Car or the helicopter for the return. Both vehicles had to return to Melbourne.
The most serious issue that must attract the greatest focus is the report of the alleged laughing by the Chief Commissioner in a group about the Tasmanian flight.
There could be a million reasons for jocularity, but that of itself is incidental.
What is most egregious is that this was reported to the media, which can only be described as a bona fide undermining of his position.
The other airwing use could have been leaked by any number of people, but this latest alleged reaction could only reasonably have been done by his inner circle, indicating where all the leaks emanated.
It goes to the heart of the solidarity of the Command of VicPol and is very worrying, highlighting the difficulties that exist at that level in the Force.
There is obviously a rat in the ranks.
In an organisation where the average Police member would be hung, drawn and quartered for even a misspoken word to the media or anybody else outside the Force, but those in the upper echelons feel they have the right of free rein to attack the Chief.
The Herald Sun reported:
“Some police staff are understood to be fuming over the undeclared flights, with one describing his wife’s trip as nothing more than “a joy ride”.
“People are really annoyed he has misled them,” a source said.
“He is taking the public, and his staff, for fools … It’s about integrity.”
Sources also claimed that Mr Bush and a few of his colleagues had further upset staff by “laughing about Choppergate” since his apology on October 22.
They added that it was particularly galling at a time when positions were being reviewed as part of a force restructure.
“Everyone is really scared about their jobs,” they said.
To that statement, we add – the ‘Source and some Police staff ‘ ought to grow a backbone and talk to the Chief about their concerns, that would be integrity. But only after the Source has a chat with the psych unit about their insecurities.
Double standards cause poor leadership and management at any level.
The Chief underestimated the nature of the VicPol hierarchy by announcing his intent to streamline the upper command and release many staff and other managers from unnecessary Command Units, returning them to the frontline, where the priority lies.
The NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) principle has been applied by incumbents being forewarned of the austerity target, and somebody or some people in these higher positions are so insecure that they see themselves as being part of the austerity target, so feel the need to discredit the Chief and, in turn, sabotage his intent.
As far as we are concerned, the person or persons responsible for the leaks should be the first to go. Fulfilling their own insecurities. Check their phones.
It makes one wonder whether the use of the Airwing was a decision by the Chief or whether he was receiving advice to set him up for criticism.
Perhaps his biggest failure was to underestimate the narcissism that is created by being part of the VicPol executive command, and that he must now be extremely diligent, as this latest issue may, in fact, be the start of an orchestrated campaign to discredit him.
Most danger will come from those who have worked hard to be close and gain his trust.
Ironically, a trust not reciprocated.
by CAA | Nov 5, 2025 | Library, Uncategorized, Victoria Police Issues, Violence, Youth, Youth Crime
In our most recent article, “The 300 Club Phenomenon” at https://caainc.org.au/the-300-club-phenomenon/, the CAA has outlined the issues with the current approach to juvenile crime and what needs to be done to address them.
Setting out what drives the youth phenomena, the article identifies major causes and who is responsible for failures.
Fundamental to this piece is the impact of social cohesion failure.
Over the last 20 years, our society has been ruptured, changing it from a society that respects the variety of cultures and ethnicities of its population to one that is fractured along tribal lines.
Respect for the family is continually undermined by governments hell-bent on destroying the fabric of the family, as if it competes with it.
Respect has all but evaporated, and that is founded in the application of the laws of this State and overzealous governments creating cultural divisions by promoting individual tribes, blatantly for political reasons rather than what is best for our society, coupled with overt support for fringe groups not representative of the overall community but focused on small sectors of it. These highly visible and vocal activist groups are not representative of the community as they would have you believe, but are an anathema to it.
Australia, and in many ways, Victoria led the way in creating a cohesive society where new and old groups were treated with respect. However, today, state leaders are pitting one group against another, and this manifests most vividly in our Youth.
We have lived in harmony with other cultures, but today that harmony is being eroded from all directions, and it is worsening.
In the future, we predict that the fundamental building blocks of our society will continue to erode.
Among the areas under siege, the Courts are the most obvious and most vulnerable.
This vulnerability has been created from within the Court system itself, where activist justices work to erode the court’s power, all the while ignoring the realities of society and the victims.
Failing to read the room will be the Court’s demise.
The effect of these jurist activists is to render the legal system so ineffective that the Government will have no choice but to create more restrictive laws regarding the freedom and independence of the Courts, or otherwise, anarchy will prevail.
Further, the Courts have sidelined not only the victims in criminal matters but also the perpetrator’s family, abdicating them of any responsibility.
This is a critical failure, particularly in the management of juvenile criminals.
Most of the strategies favoured by activists is to attack the family, who must be cultivated to perform the critical task of guiding and or disciplining young people away from a life of crime. They see the family as the vulnerability, to destroying society.
There are, of course, families who nurture crime by either overt actions or sheer indifference; however, legislators must enact a penalty structure for parents whose children commit crimes. Hitting them in the hip pocket will be the most effective way to focus their minds on the parenting task.
Whether that is through reformation, distinct penalties, or a combination of both is moot; something must be done.
To rectify the issue, or at least put us on a path to recovery, we must rely on those justices who the activist agenda has not swayed to show leadership and, by example, highlight the weaknesses and or activism of their fellow judges by issuing penalties that highlight the failures of others; Leadership by a new, higher standard.
We, however, fear that until we have a government that focuses on governing for everyone rather than pet projects based on ethnicity (and votes), we are unlikely to see improvements anytime soon.
Activism is not confined to the Courts but high-profile, unlawful, and violent demonstrations on our streets in pursuit of an activist agenda is a standout act of insurrection.
There is little hope of reigning in uncontrollable activities – without taking back control of our streets.
The government’s inaction on this issue is tantamount to acquiescing to the lawlessness, something a government cannot and should not do under any circumstances.
This is not about the content of any demonstration, as peaceful demonstrations are a right we all possess; it is about the lawlessness that must be given no quarter.
Unfortunately, and we would argue deliberately, the Public Service appears to be a hotbed of alternative activist activity, and the concept of providing impartial advice to government ministers on policy matters has been lost; the Public Service has morphed into an arm of the government’s ideological agenda without a discernible gap to support the separation of powers concept and foundational to our democracy, which is fast becoming a myth.
Another area impacting our youth is education.
Schools are failing in their function to educate, and they cannot claim otherwise when they routinely send children home (with or without parental knowledge) rather than addressing any indiscretions by pupils in school, as was historically the case.
Moreover, the Schools are, as a matter of course, sidelining parents in the development of their children.
They have claimed a mantle of knowing what is best for a particular child or children in general and acting accordingly, often to the deliberate exclusion of parents. This approach aligns with the activist agendas in several social areas.
Children as young as the Preparatory year are being exposed to socially divisive issues as deliberate conditioning—a manipulation of young minds who should be educated, not manipulated, on an activist community construct.
The real damage, however, is the harm to the family cohesiveness, where the views imposed on young children may conflict with those of their parents, either culturally or otherwise.
Parents have little hope of influencing the development of children when the schools act as influences on activist agendas. This is particularly true of some ethnic families, aggravated by English not being their first language or the Australian culture being dissimilar to their own.
It is no wonder that there is an overrepresentation in the crime statistics of cultures, as arrivals in Australia in recent years have had their parental role subordinated..
The combination of these factors has eroded the concept of accountability within social cohesion, and inaction every day deepens the demise of the State and its residents.
Addressing all these issues is now a matter of urgency.
