Portfolio — 12 July 2026

Crime and police resourcing in the City of Casey dominate the Berwick district's parliamentary discourse across the mid-June sitting window, with the Member for Berwick, Mr Battin, driving the theme through Assembly speech, private member's legislation, and procedural matters — while other members independently corroborated and contested the same ground.

Mr Battin's most significant legislative act in the window was introducing a bill requiring IBAC reports to be released to the public [TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s045], arguing that the non-release of the Operation Richmond report evidences government concealment of corruption. He contended the report, once released, will reveal corrupt behaviour involving named individuals and the United Firefighters Union, and that ministers named in it should publicly apologise [TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s047].

He situated the bill within a broader pattern he characterised as Labor corruption, citing the red shirts scandal, theft by a former Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and the $15 billion cost of Big Build projects as historical precedents warranting IBAC investigation powers [TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s050 TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s052].

On policing, Mr Battin presented detailed crime data for his district: a 9.1 per cent overall increase in crime across Casey, a 25 per cent increase in theft from motor vehicles, a 138 per cent rise in the growth corridor, and a 43 per cent increase in offences at shopping centres, with 58 per cent of Casey crimes remaining unresolved [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s080 TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s081].

He attributed this to Victoria Police resource constraints — officers unable to conduct DNA testing, fingerprinting and roadside drug testing due to budget restrictions. He cited a factory firebombing in Keysborough that resulted in only a 12-month good behaviour bond and described aggravated burglaries of elderly residents, characterising youth offenders as cycling through the justice system without accountability.

The district's most urgent policing ask, as Mr Battin framed it, was permanent staffing at Clyde North police station, where crime has risen 83 per cent since 2023, with officers currently required to travel from Narre Warren or Cranbourne, both stations carrying roster vacancies [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s352].

Third-party contributions reinforced and extended the Casey crime narrative. Mr Limbrick, speaking to the Victoria Police Amendment (Police Reservists) Bill 2026, reported attending a crime forum in the City of Berwick where police stated that only 12 officers are available on many shifts in the City of Casey — a population comparable to Tasmania — and noted that retailers had ceased reporting crimes due to expected police response times and procedural burden [TA-260616-vichns-db6eb221750c:s136].

Mr Limbrick's policy prescriptions diverged from Mr Battin's: he supported modest resourcing increases but pressed the government to address underlying crime incentives, reform procurement policies exploited by organised crime, strengthen bail laws, and expand pharmacotherapy access for opiate addicts. He characterised both the machete ban and the Opposition's proposed Jack's Law as ineffective or unproven, and instead advocated for pepper spray access and castle law protections.

He announced plans to host a crime forum in the City of Casey with invited experts. That the same operational deficit — 12 officers on shift across a population the size of Tasmania — was raised by both a cross-bench member at a community forum and by the Member for Berwick on the floor of the Assembly signals a convergent, multi-source account of policing pressure in the district.

The government's response to the Clyde North policing matter came from the Leader of the House, the Minister for Police, Community Safety, Victims and Racing, who told the Assembly that the government had invested $78 million in both Clyde North and Narre Warren police stations and had delivered record investment in police services across the state [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s362].

The two positions — district-level resource vacancies versus state-level capital investment — were not reconciled in the records.

The window also produced a political dimension distinct from policy. During the 18 June no-confidence motion in the Premier, Labor members referenced Mr Battin's prior leadership bid, noting that his tenure as Opposition leader had produced a 41 per cent primary vote against the current Opposition leader's 24–26 per cent [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s067]. Labor members characterised him as having reconsidered his position following the leadership change and suggested his future remained uncertain [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s071 TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s073].

These references appeared in the context of a broader political contest and not in relation to Berwick district policy.

Mr Battin also paid tribute to retiring Victoria Police member Justin Polwarth, who served 32 years [TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s106], addressed the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report on tobacco and vape regulation — citing links between illegal tobacco and vaping to arson attacks, extortion and firearm incidents — and warned that unregulated vapes contain chemicals found in car exhaust, weedkiller, bleach, paint stripper and rat poison [TA-260617-vichns-9fa22f0e851d:s133].

He also moved a motion condemning the member for Werribee for expressing confidence in a Premier he characterised as presiding over corruption, record crime, unemployment above the national average and nearly $200 billion net debt [TA-260618-vichns-682983134932:s019].

On 17 June, Mr Battin interjected during parliamentary debate and drew procedural warnings from the Chair when raising allegations relating to an integrity matter, which other members challenged as inappropriate for the chamber.