Oliver Peterson: Australian correspondent on the concerns surrounding safety in Melbourne amid stabbings and protests

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan has stated Melbourne is perfectly safe, despite some recent incidents coming out of the city's CBD.

Two police officers were hospitalised after clashing with protesters during the weekend's March for Australia rally.

This attack came days after a woman was stabbed in the chest near Spencer St in broad daylight. 

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says the police union has voiced concerns - and is calling for updated legislation regarding protests.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
International Correspondence with Ends and Eye Insurance Peace of Mind
for New Zealand Business. Holly Peterson sixty our Perth Live
presenters with us ALI. What happened at the protest over
the weekend.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, we've got some police officers who have been injured
as a result of rocks and bottles being thrown at
their really ugly scenes which have been making headlines right
around the world. Now we're talking here about pro and
anti migration protesters coming together in the Melbourne CBD, but
unfortunately head this is really becoming something that we are

(00:34):
witnessing on the streets in Melbourne on a very regular basis.
Police have had enough. They are absolutely fed up with it.
There was the random stabbing of a woman in the
middle of the as I say, PERCVD the Melbourne CBD
last week when the Premier just think to Allen was
asked if Melbourne is safe, she couldn't say it. Then
she's gone on to the front foot today to say yes,
the Melbourne CBD is safe. People do not think that

(00:56):
it is safe and the Police Union is calling now
on there being a permit and registration process like they
have in New South Wales before protests are planned, so
at least they know what they are about to deal with.
But I'll tell you what, the underbelly of Melbourne is
now on full display, full spotlight. It's again making global headlines.

(01:17):
And Melbourne is getting a really bad reputation.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
And has this got anything to do with the private
security that's being employed by various suburbs.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, this is part of the problem because you go
out to the Western suburbs, which is the sprawling area
of Melbourne at the moment, which is where housing estates
cannot keep up with the migration boom and people are
resulting to yes, private security guards. If you look at
aggravated burglaries and theft, we're seeing a spike of fifty
percent year on year and they're still pretty high statistics.

(01:45):
We're talking about two and a half to three thousand
people finding their properties being broken into on a daily basis.
A lot of these people as well, header are juveniles
jumping fences, coming into their houses, stealing the goods, stealing cars.
You don't forget they've got a banen machetes in Victoria. Again,
these are all the headlines you don't want to be
talking about in regards to a city like Melbourne, which

(02:08):
is obviously trying to be the events capital of Australia,
if not trying to say they're rivaling the rest of
the world with Grand Prix, Boxing Day tests, Melbourne cups,
et cetera. Etc. There are some major social problems in
Victoria which have been bubbling away for years. The government
is losing control and now you're resulting to private security
guards complementing the police and regularly reports now out of

(02:30):
the western suburbs of Melbourne that the police helicopters having
to hover around the suburbs all night just to keep
people safe.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Jesus Rafae. Now, Okay, what do you think is going
on with Barnaby.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Well, he's got the sh one ts with the National Party.
Quite frankly, he doesn't agree with David Little Proud or
the direction of the coalition because they will not abandon
at this stage and at zero. And look, he is
a very savvy politician, so is Pauline Hanson. Now Pauline
Hanson's into a seventies, Barnaby Joyce is fifty eight. He
can see another fifteen to twenty years in the Australian

(03:04):
Parliament as the breakaway renegade that he is being the
next leader of one Nation, so this is all about
saving his own backside ultimately, Heather, and I'm not saying
that the National Party was going to break up with
Barnaby Joyce either, but the Conservative parties are currently having
a crisis of identity and that is on full and

(03:25):
frank display for the Australian public to be going along
the ride with this Barnaby liking although him is one
of the most effective politicians probably of this generation, and
if he is going to make a decision in the
years going to one nation, he's just going to play
the game for a little bit longer. Then this could
have catastrophic consequences for what the coalition is at the moment,

(03:46):
which is already broken, doesn't know what it stands for.
Andrew Hasti's resigned as we know, jes see, the price
has resigned. And now if you see Barnaby Joyce, former
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, former leader of the National Party,
defect to one Nation while we are in for some
sort of a ride as the Conservative side of Australian
politics tries to find whatever identity it has or does
not have in his country at the moment.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Ollie, how many coins did you get? How many of
those Bluey coins did you get? For the kids?

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Four? I managed to win in the ballot two and
tired my wife. So if you'd like to bid on them, Hea,
then I'm happy to sell them. She's twenty.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
No, you spent eighty dollars on coins.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Yeah, well I didn't know she was going to get them.
She didn't know I was going to get them, but
yeah we did. As I said, the tooth Fairy might
be interested in some of these.

Speaker 1 (04:27):
You get paid way too much, Ollie, thanks very much.
Look out for yourself. Oliver Peterson six pm, Perth Life presenter.
He is so excited about he actually he won it
last week and sent me a screen grab and was
like whew I got the Bluey coins and I was like,
whoo your banks. Yeah, that's a not too Scottish for
that nonsense from my on my part. For more from

(04:50):
Heather Duplessy Allen Drave, listen live to news Talks it'd
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