The Liberals have been exposed for being too slow to act on knife crime.

Today in Question Time, the Premier revealed that legislation for Reid’s Law won’t be introduced until the first week of parliament in 2025 – another three months away.

They’ve pulled the bill they’ve been promising all year, because despite years of lobbying from Laraine Ludwig, they’ve failed to do the work to enact Reid’s Law.

Last night’s shocking stabbing incidents on the eastern shore highlight the consequences of the Liberals’ continued failure to take rising knife crime seriously.

The Premier admitted today that the Government’s announced trial doesn’t give police any new powers to conduct broadscale searches for knives in public areas.

It’s just a band-aid to try and patch over the Liberals’ failure to take this issue seriously while Minister Ellis tries to get his act together.

The Liberals commitment to enacting Reid’s Law is welcome, but it shouldn’t have taken four years of lobbying by Ms Ludwig and a policy from Labor for them to finally act.

Jen Butler MP
Shadow Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Management