Victoria’s opposition leader has responded to the state government’s plan to make assaulting retail and hospitality workers punishable by up to five years in prison.
Brad Battin didn’t directly answer whether the opposition would support the laws, but he said they wouldn’t change anything.
Opposition Leader Brad Battin.Credit: The Age
“The definition of the five years for assaulting a retail worker or a hospitality worker is exactly the same definition for serious assault that is already in law. So, all we’re doing here is changing the title on one piece of legislation,” he said.
Loading
“So, do I support the fact that people can get up to five years’ prison for serious assault? Yes. That’s been in legislation for a long time, since before I was a police officer back in the early 2000s. This isn’t a change at all.”
Asked if the Labor government had outflanked the opposition with this week’s several crime announcements, Battin disagreed.
He said the government had still not pledged to introduce Jack’s Law or “Break Bail, Face Jail” laws, which remained his party’s platform.
“I’ll judge [whether Labor has neutralised this issue] when I see these crime stats come out and the legislation they’re putting forward. Because let’s be honest, they had the backboard, the posters, but what they didn’t have was the legislation. This is legislation based on polling. They’ve already had that leaked out from their own party room,” he said.
Battin also batted away a question that his shadow treasurer Jess Wilson would challenge him for the leadership. He said it was his “goal” to lead the Liberals to next year’s Victorian election.
Asked whether his party supported repealing net zero emissions, the Liberal leader said the party had no position to do that.
