My constituency question is to the Minister for Crime Prevention.

Ballarat is a place to live, study, work, raise a family or retire. While our city is known to be a safe and welcoming place, sometimes crime can affect some of our residents.

I was pleased to see our youth crime prevention project, run by Berry Street, re-funded in the budget. Extending this project will continue Berry Street’s excellent progress in addressing the disconnection and trauma that can lead our more vulnerable young people into offending.

It was great to join the minister recently for an online forum with City of Ballarat, local service providers, community groups, students and police to discuss women’s safety across the city as part of the building safer communities program. This is a state government scheme which tackles the root causes of crime through innovative, community-based projects.

Minister, what is the latest information on the actions undertaken following the forum, and what are the future opportunities for the Ballarat council and local community groups to access funding to address the causes of crime in the area?

Read the Minister’s response here – or for more of my contributions in Parliament, click here.