By KATRINA BRANDON
DO the crime, do the time.
Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has announced that the Nationals and Liberals in government will restore confidence in Victoria’s justice system by strengthening sentencing laws to ensure serious offenders face meaningful consequences.
“We are going to have a new criminal appeals court, and what that means is the current Civil Appeals Court is going to be split in two,” Mr Cameron told the Express.
“We will have a criminal aspect of it, and we will also have a civil aspect to it. We’ll be installing new judges who are versed specifically in the criminal court, and that’ll mean that decisions that are made in the appeals court will hand down sentences, which are going to be up with community expectation.”
According to the Crime Statistics Agency, Latrobe Valley had the second-highest criminal incident rates in Local Government Areas from March 31, 2025 to March 31, 2026, and the second-highest recorded offence rates.
For criminal incidents, Latrobe had 12,922.8 incidents per 100,000 estimated resident population, up 4.7 per cent from the previous year.
The Coalition says the new Court of Criminal Appeal will ensure that sentences for serious crimes match community expectations and give effect to tough new bail and sentencing laws to be introduced before Christmas.
The Nationals and Liberals will also publish comprehensive sentencing data and, for the first time, Children’s Court outcomes, so Victorians can hold the system to account.
This will improve the Sentencing Advisory Council’s data reporting by breaking down outcomes by type and explaining the length of a sentence compared with the possible available sentence.
Mr Cameron said Victorians were sick of watching repeat offenders receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
“Victorians have had enough of the Labor-made crime crisis, and none more than in the Latrobe Valley where we continue to have the highest crime rate outside of Melbourne,” he said.
“Our reforms will end the revolving door of bail and lenient sentencing and restore a justice system that holds offenders to account and keeps people safe.
“The new Court of Criminal Appeal will set a clear precedent and make sure sentences finally meet community expectations.
“By publishing comprehensive sentencing data, including for Children’s Court outcomes, we’ll improve transparency so Victorians can see the sentences being handed down across the justice system.
“These reforms are one part of our full plan to end the crime crisis, alongside 3000 additional police.
“We will be opening up all our police stations that have been shut or been put on reduced hours. Adult crime for adult time. So if you are a person under 18, and you are stealing cars, and you are committing terrible crime, you will face adult time. And you will have a one-strike rule with bail. If you break bail, you will go to jail.”
The state government announced on Monday it had made $10 million available for local councils to apply for funding under the Creating Safer Places grants program.
Councils can apply for up to $250,000 to buy practical upgrades such as CCTV and improved lighting.
The state government says this will help councils protect local businesses, workers and customers by making shopping strips and community spaces safer.
“Jess Wilson’s Liberal-One Nation Coalition is promising $40 billion in cuts,” the state government asserted.
“That means one thing: cuts to the police and courts that are holding criminals to account.”
