Blow the Truth

 Gangs with machetes in Victoria  A stark and sobering assessment of Victoria's crime situation has been delivered by former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina , who recently declared on Sky News that it's "too far gone" to turn the crisis around in the short term. His comments come as the state grapples with soaring crime rates , including a concerning rise in unsolved cases and youth gang activity . Bezzina's experience on the frontline provides a chilling perspective on the challenges facing Victoria Police . His declaration that the authorities " took their eye off the ball " is a powerful criticism, suggesting a failure of strategy and resources that has allowed crime to embed itself within the community.

Tobacco War Gangster Counting Profits Photo Gemini The " Tobacco wars " refer to an ongoing series of violent conflicts between organized crime groups in Australia, primarily centered in Melbourne but spreading to other states like South Australia , Queensland , and New South Wales . These clashes involve arson attacks, firebombings , extortion, shootings, and murders, all aimed at controlling the lucrative black market for illicit tobacco .

Australia’s tobacco market has become a battleground, not just for public health but for organized crime syndicates reaping billions in profits from an illicit trade fueled by sky-high taxes and lax regulation. Dubbed the " Tobacco Wars ," this escalating conflict has seen firebombings, extortion, and even murder, as criminal networks vie for control of a black market worth an estimated $2 billion to $10 billion annually. This article explores why the government maintains its hefty tobacco taxes, who is behind the illicit trade, where the profits are going, why police efforts seem insufficient, and why new tobacco shops continue to proliferate despite the chaos.   #Why the Government Won’t Lower Tobacco Taxes Australia has some of the highest tobacco taxes in the world, with an excise rate of AUD 1.27816 per cigarette stick or AUD 1,893.57 per kilogram of tobacco as of 2024. A pack of 25 cigarettes can cost over $50 legally, pushing many smokers to cheaper, illegal altern...

People protest against youth crime The Crisafulli Government has delivered Jack’s Law , which has been officially proclaimed. The law, which was expanded and made permanent by the Crisafulli Government, allows police to use hand-held scanners to detect deadly weapons in all public places. More than 3,200 arrests under Jack’s Law and more than 5,900 charges laid.   The Crisafulli Government is delivering on making Queensland safer, with  Jack’s Law now in place permanently across Queensland.   The law allows police to use hand-held metal detectors to identify and seize weapons from people in all public places, expanding the powerful crime-fighting tool.   Expanded and permanent Jack’s Law officially came into effect yesterday, following the  p assing of  Making Jack’s Law Permanent  legislation last month , expanding the powers and overturning Labor’s proposed expiry of the laws.   After a decade of Labor failure, crime escalated under weake...

  Photo QLD Police Dash Cam Media outlets across Australia have carried headlines about a “youth crime crisis” in recent months. While drawn from actual events, often involving serious criminality and antisocial behaviour, these often sensational reports have the same narrative subtext. The story is one of “bad kids” doing bad things in otherwise “good communities”. Our understanding, as a society, of who we are is informed in part by the media. What the youth crime crisis is and who we understand young offenders to be corresponds with media framings of these individuals and their actions. More often than not, the reports present a “good-bad” binary: where “bad” young people who do bad things should be locked up to protect “good” people. It’s a basic, albeit understandable, reaction that makes sense in terms of a logic of punishment and retribution. For the Youth Community Futures research project, we have been working with groups of young people to explore how they engage w...