State Government announces new laws and penalties for carrying a machete

3/10/04
In the crackdown against gang warfare, Police Minister Michelle Roberts today announced new laws and tougher penalties for people caught unlawfully carrying a machete and other dangerous weapons.
Mrs Roberts said the State Government had now boosted police powers to enable officers to more effectively confiscate machetes.
The Minister said under changes to the Weapons Act, people had to prove their innocence in carrying a machete, rather than police having to prove that they intended to cause injury or fear.
"The law just did not reflect common sense," she said.
"There are only a few circumstances where a person might reasonably carry a machete and strolling through Northbridge at night is unlikely to be one of those.
"I have taken immediate action to bring this ridiculous situation to a close and give police the necessary powers to remove this threat to community safety."
Mrs Roberts said in the battle against street gang warfare, tougher new penalties and laws were required to send a strong message to gang members to take their feuds off our streets.
Over the last two years, there had been two deaths and numerous assaults between rivals gangs using machetes, knives and blunt edge weapons.
In one incident two years ago, a young man was stabbed in a Northbridge nightclub and later died. Despite DNA evidence that linked a rival gang member to the machete, no conviction was achieved.
"Streets gangs are increasingly armed with weapons because of their involvement in the illicit drug trade and are carrying large quantities of money and drugs," the Minister said.
Today Mrs Roberts announced that all penalties in the Weapons Act would be increased and two new offences created to target street gangs. These included:

• tripling the penalty for unlawfully carrying a machete or controlled weapon to three years' imprisonment;
• creating a new offence for carrying a machete and other weapons at night in the vicinity of licensed premises. This would attract a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment; and
• offenders found in possession of a weapon and either illicit drugs or money would be liable to up to eight year's imprisonment.