Victoria to ban machete sales this week after gang brawl at shopping centre
www.abc.net.au
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says the sale of machetes will be banned from Wednesday following a gang brawl at a shopping centre on Sunday.

cross-posted from: https://quokk.au/post/6390494

The Victorian government will ban the sale of machetes from Wednesday after a gang brawl at a shopping centre.

Two males were arrested and another was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition after the incident at Northlands shopping centre.

  • GraniteM@lemmy.world
    4·
    21 hours ago

    I’ve got a relatively small stand of bamboo growing in my backyard and I have no idea how I would control it if I didn’t have a machete. It would take over my whole yard in one or two growing seasons if I didn’t spend some time every spring hacking away at the new growth.

  • naught101@lemmy.world
    21·
    3 days ago

    You can make one with an angle grinder and about half an hour. This is dumb.

    Absolutely carrying them around town should be illegal, but they are super useful in rural settings.

    • N0t_5ure@lemmy.world
      20·
      3 days ago

      If you ban the tool, people who legitimately use the tool are harmed, and the people who abuse the tool will just find something else.

      • nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca
        12·
        3 days ago

        It’s not like it’s banned across Canada. They will still be available elsewhere on the island even.

        This is just as dumb as local city and state gun laws in the US. Gun nuts point at them and point out how they don’t work. Like no shit they don’t work when you can just drive for 20 mins and get one.

        Edit: okay I got lost . I thought this was about the Canadian city of Victoria. Turns out it’s…not. I’m leaving this here as a monument of my stupidity.

      • InvisibleShoe@lemmy.world
        8·
        2 days ago

        Rural NSW bushland - heaps of people around here have machetes and cane knives. Useful for cutting through vines, small saplings, lantana, etc. My cane knife is probably my 3rd most used tool when doing outdoor work on my property.

  • tau@aussie.zoneEnglish
    12·
    3 days ago

    Nothing like a good moral panic to make people throw reason out the window. Carrying a machete without a reasonable cause is already illegal and clearly didn’t stop these people, banning them altogether will just make things hard for those who would use them legally.

    It’s the same level of thinking as some pelican near me who was calling for a 40km/h zone due to a recent accident. The existing laws against taking illegal drugs, stealing cars, staying on the road, and not speeding over the current limit didn’t stop the guy who caused it, but he sure would have listened to a 40km/h sign…

    • Fleur_@aussie.zone
      6·
      2 days ago

      As far as I’m aware there isn’t a thriving jungle expedition scene in Victoria. And slower roads are just safer. They objectively save lives.

      • tau@aussie.zoneEnglish
        4·
        2 days ago

        As far as I’m aware there isn’t a thriving jungle expedition scene in Victoria

        You don’t know what people actually use machetes for, but they look scary so lets make a snide comment suggesting there’s no reason to have them. That’s exactly the sort of knee jerk reaction which makes for dumb laws like this.

        • Fleur_@aussie.zone
          3·
          2 days ago

          “You don’t know what people actually use machetes for”

          There was actually this really cool news story that just came out about what people are actually using them for

          • tau@aussie.zoneEnglish
            5·
            2 days ago

            There was actually this really cool news story that just came out about what people are actually using them for

            There’s been this really cool news story recently about what people are using foraged mushrooms for, better ban doing that pronto because it’s clearly dangerous and there’s no chance anyone else is doing it safely…

    • lunarul@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 days ago

      I kept waiting for the punchline, I thought this is sarcastically mimicking the American arguments against gun regulations.

  • fdPeQh@aussie.zone
    3·
    2 days ago

    This might be one of those,

    1. We have to do something
    2. This is something
    3. We must do this.

    It completely depends on how the rules are implemented however. It isn’t just knee jerk policy and has been in the works for a bit. I do hope it works.

    • DeceptichumOPEnglish
      9·
      3 days ago

      Ah thanks for the extra information, shame it’s still garbage.

      Machetes are already “controlled weapons”, which mean they cannot be possessed or carried without a lawful excuse, but under Premier Jacinta Allan’s new proposal, they will be banned.

      • zero_gravitas@aussie.zoneEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        People who need them will be able to apply for a permit, so not a complete ban:

        Under the new laws, Victorians who legitimately require them such as farmers or hunters will be required to apply for exemptions.

        • tau@aussie.zoneEnglish
          4·
          3 days ago

          That will either stymie a lot of people who do legitimately need one or be useless. For example I have a machete and several legitimate uses for it - clearing a bunch of running bamboo on my (residential) block, clearing blackberry etc from single track for the dirt bike, and clearing lantana etc on my grandad’s property. If they require something like proof of owning rural land I would be blocked from legitimate use (if I lived in Vic), if they take me at my word what’s to stop any man and his dog claiming similar and then we’re back where we started but with more bureaucracy.

  • MHLoppy@fedia.io
    2·
    3 days ago

    The Conversation: Australia’s first machete ban is coming to Victoria. Will it work, or is it just another political quick fix?

    Tackling violence takes serious commitment to complex and intensive programs that focus on the root causes, particularly among at-risk families and disadvantaged, marginalised youth.

    This is hard work that takes a long time, includes many different stakeholders, and seldom sways votes. Focusing on the choice of weapon is simply a distraction.

    There is no question the sight of machete-wielding youths storming through a busy shopping centre is terrifying. People should be able to go about their business without fearing they will be attacked.

    But reducing violence takes a lot more than banning one particular weapon, as Victoria will likely find out.