Knives out for machete sale ban after shopper terror
Callum Godde, Melissa Meehan and Allanah Sciberras |
Machete-fuelled gang violence at a shopping centre has sparked an immediate ban on selling the deadly weapons, but police and retail groups say it doesn’t go far enough.
Shoppers were left terrified on Sunday when a violent brawl erupted between rival gangs armed with machetes at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s north.
Two boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged, along with a 20-year-old Thornbury man and 18-year-old Bundoora man.
Both of the boys were on bail at the time.
Another man, also 20, remains in hospital with serious head injuries.
One of the alleged machete attackers was pinned to the ground in a daring citizen’s arrest.
Three other suspects remain on the run.
“We’ve already identified all those involved, with more arrests imminent,” Victoria Police deputy commissioner David Clayton told reporters.
The fight locked down the complex and conjured memories of the 2024 Bondi Junction shopping centre stabbing attack that left six innocent people dead.
Three of the four machetes used in Sunday’s fight have been seized by police, who will step up patrols around the shopping centre and surrounds in coming days and weekends.
In its response, the Victorian government stopped short of bringing forward a ban on the long blades from September 1 and a subsequent three-month amnesty period.
Premier Jacinta Allan instead opted for an interim ban on the sale of machetes from noon on Wednesday, under extraordinary commonwealth powers.
“The community shouldn’t have to deal with these weapons in their shopping centres,” Ms Allan said.
“Neither should our police.”
The interim sale ban will cover machetes – broadly described as a cutting-edge knife with a blade of more than 20 centimetres – and have no exemptions for buyers with legitimate uses such as agricultural work.
“This is the tool that we are using to choke the supply,” the premier said.
Retailers have been told to store excess stock in a safe location until the amnesty and exemption schemes begin.
A task force will be established to enforce the interim ban, with business owners risking fines of up to $200,000 or prison time if caught in breach.
Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said the government had done a “half job”.
“It’s a backflip where the premier has landed on her backside,” he said.
“This ban should take place for the sale and also for carrying these machetes.”
Ms Allan defended her government’s decision not to bring forward the possession ban and amnesty period, which includes placing locked disposal boxes at 40 police stations.
She said it was based on advice from Victoria Police and agencies in March over safety concerns, and pointed out it took 18 months for the UK to implement its machete ban.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association welcomed the interim sales ban but reiterated its request for outlets to lock up all bladed items, including kitchen knives.
Victorian police union boss Wayne Gatt said the machete ban should be accompanied by greater search powers and courts following through on meting out deterrent punishments.
“A ban on the sale will stop more (machetes) being sold, more being released from legitimate retailers,” he said.
“But it won’t get them out of the homes, from under the beds, from down the trouser pockets of people on our streets.”
The Australian Retailers Association and National Retail Association called for broader reforms, including strengthened police search powers based on Queensland’s Jack’s Law.
Victoria’s machete ban and expanded police search powers for weapons passed parliament in March after just under 14,800 edged weapons were confiscated in 2024 – a 10-year high.
Most were seized from homes during raids rather than people carrying them on the streets, police said.
Shop owners have been arrested for selling the weapons directly to youth gangs and police vowed to continue to target markets suspected of selling machetes and monitor online sales.
AAP
