The proposal to review Victoria’s current self-defence laws did not go through after a close vote in parliament on Wednesday, 13 August.
It was almost a tie, sitting at 18 in opposition and 17 for the review, which Libertarian MP David Limbrick first put forward last week.
Following the no-vote, he said that “we had overwhelming support from the community for this proposal to empower people to protect themselves”.
“In fact, it feels like the only people in Victoria to oppose it were the 18 MPs from the government, the Greens and the Animal Justice Party,” he said.
According to the Hansard, the majority of south-eastern metropolitan MPs, who were Limbrick, Ann-Marie Hermans, and Rachel Payne, voted in support of the review.
Those who voted against it were Michael Galea and Lee Tarlamis; extending to the eastern metropolitan region also included Tom McIntosh, who was against, and Melina Bath and Renee Heath, who were for it.
Local Berwick MP and state Opposition leader, Brad Battin, said during a conference on Thursday, 14 August, that he was disappointed that the vote had been blocked by members of the Labor, Greens and the Animal Justice Party.
He added that the “only reason” the discussion has been brought up in Victoria “is because the number of home invasions happening in this state is at record levels”.
“We’re seeing home invasions once every hour across this state, [and] no wonder people are genuinely concerned.
“I think it’s disappointing that any party would not want to have a review of what people can do to protect themselves in their own homes,” he said.
According to the Crime Statistics Agency, the City of Casey, in the year ending March 2025, recorded 2155 offences related to burglaries and breaking and entering, a 26.17 per cent increase from 2024’s figure of 1708.
Private residential dwellings were also on a steady rise on the most common incident locations, recording 11,893 offences, up 10.3 per cent from the previous year’s figure of 10,777 offences.
When asked if residents “need more rights when it comes to self-defence”, Battin didn’t outright agree nor disagree; instead, he said that a review would be essential, especially when it comes to people having that understanding of their rights and also building awareness around it.
“The best thing to do is to ensure we have a review so people can find out, ‘what can I do?’,” he said.
“What can you do if someone breaks into your home? What rights do you have to protect your own property? I think a review would make sure that we can get all that out to the public.”
Battin then reiterated the reason for the discussion of review, emphasising the high rates of crime in Victoria, and that it is “at a rate these communities have never seen before in their life”.
He also added that he would not “dictate” what people should and should not do during an incident that calls for self-defence, saying that calling Triple 0 would be his personal first preference.
“I may handle it differently from how my daughters would handle it if someone broke into the house,” he said.
“But the most important part is you need to make sure people are protected in their own home.
“You should have the right to protect yourself… and a review would make sure that we can find uot exactly what level that would be.”
This story is developing, and Star News is sourcing comments from legal and criminology experts for added information.
