Oliver Peterson: Australian correspondent on a machete ban being brought forward after weekend brawl

Over in Australia, machetes will be removed from shop shelves in the coming days after a violent gang brawl forced a busy shopping centre into lockdown. 

Shoppers were left terrified after a conflict by rival gang members armed with machetes at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne's north took place over the weekend.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan announced the ban would take effect from noon on May 28 - and fines and jail time would be enforced against retailers who don't comply.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oliver Peterson six PR Perth Live presenters with us A
Ali get ahead. Okay, So maschetti sales are banned, are they?

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Yeah, they are from midday on Wednesday Victorian time. This
comes after there was a shopping center incident over the
weekend in Melbourne, allegedly between a couple of armeders slants
using a machete. So the Victorian Premier just into Allen,
fronting the cameras first thing this morning and saying from
midday on Thursday, midday on Wednesday, the sale of machees

(00:29):
will be banned until September the first.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
The reason she can't put.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
It in for longer than that is the laws would
need to be changed by the State Parliament, so perhaps
they will do that in the coming months. If you
are court selling a machete after that time, you go
to jail or you could face a two hundred thousand
dollar fine. So a very decisive and quick action being
made thereby the Victorian Premiere.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hey, listen, what's the latest from the floods?

Speaker 2 (00:53):
So the warriorcamp again. Damn in Sydney has burst, it seems.
This obviously is the dam which provides all of the
water the drinking water to people who live in Sydney,
apart from that which obviously comes from.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
A desalination plant.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
But in terms of the floods, we're talking about ten
thousands residents or ten thousand homes have been affected by this,
up to about fifty thousand people to be honest here
there have been this placed as a result of the floods.
There slowly being able to move back into some of
the towns. There are still some floodwaters in some northern
parts of New South Wales. This is going to cost
obviously hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and there

(01:29):
is no guarantee that people are going to be able
to access their homes this week. So look the images
which are coming out from cattle and livestock stations in
particular being caught up in the floods is just quite heartbreaking.
After a bunch of cyclones have really hit this part
of New South Wales and southern Queensland over recent months.
It is something they don't want to be heading into

(01:50):
with winter just around the corner.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
Now I see that the problem with the ADHD medication
is being fixed in your part of the world by
GPS being able to scribe being able to begive more
ability really to prescribe it, right.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, so about one thousand gps will be given this opportunity.
Over in New South Wales, you know, they reckon that
the number of people on medication for ADHD has surged
by three hundred percent over the last decade.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
That rises to four hundred and seventy thousand people in
twenty two to twenty three.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
But it's going to become a lot easy for you.
I mean, our gps are being asked to do everything.
I don't know if it's the same in New Zealand, Heather,
but our gps are being asked to do mental health
checks now obviously prescribe ADHD medication all because there is
such a backlog as well to go and see psychiatrists
and psychologists. There's just no there's this front page story
here in our local paper today in Western Australia where

(02:37):
there is now a secret list for public surgery wait times.
So if you've got a knee issue, you could be
waiting up to three years to go in knee fixed.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
It's just ridiculous and we're putting all this pressure on
the GPS.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
I don't know that this is such a good idea,
because I mean, neither how many people do you know
in your life who've declared themselves to be ADHD.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Every other person that I'm met with.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
I've got two members of my family who think there
are ADHD, and they're almost convinced me that I am.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, I will.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Anyway, but this is the problem. Right, So now I
think I'm ADHD if I'm living in your part of
the world, then I just go along to the GP,
tellim I need the pels. They give it to me.
Surely what you need is as a specialist to sit
you down and go nah you actually.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Though, absolutely I agree.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
I think they're over prescribing this stuff and there's got
to be a massive warning sign on this, and I
don't think it's just going to be basically what.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Everyon's going to chat with the GP and say, this
is my shopping list? Can you fill it out and
give me a prescription? I don't like it?

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Are you ADHD? By the way?

Speaker 3 (03:29):
Nah? I'm not. I mean I don't stop like all
journalists have got ADHD. Don't we like we can't stop better?

Speaker 1 (03:37):
Oh yeah, you should go see the GP. Okay, Ollie,
thank you. I appreciated Oliver Peterson, six PR pers Live presenter.
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Speaker 2 (03:48):
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