The Nationals’ Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has issued a reminder that all signed pages for the ‘Change for Doctor Ashley Gordon’ petition must be returned by no later than Friday 8 November.
Doctor Gordon’s family launched a Parliamentary petition in May, sponsored by Mr Cameron, calling on the state government to take three actions in the wake of his tragic death:
- Afford police greater ‘stop and search’ powers, including the ability to stop and search if they have reasonable suspicion;
- Reinstate section 30B of the Bail Act, and;
- Cancel plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.
“It’s no surprise the Gordon family’s petition has gathered huge support from the community, not just here in the Valley but right across Victoria,” Mr Cameron said.
“Suffice to say the extensive work the Gordon family has done in advocating for change in Dr Ash’s memory has already gone a long way to making sure no family has to suffer like they have.
“The state government recently reinstated some of the measures it nonsensically removed, including bringing back the crime of committing an offence while on bail, giving police greater powers to revoke bail, and scrapping plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 2027.
“These amendments do address what is being requested of the government by the family of the late Dr Ashley Gordon in their petition, but there is a lot more work to be done to properly address the youth crime crisis that is sweeping the state.
“Labor needs to increase police stop and search powers, particularly with the concerning prevalence of young people carrying concealed weapons and the dire consequences this is having on community safety.
“I know there are lots of copies of the petition circulating in the Valley and across the state, so I’m reminding everyone to get the signed pages into my office by 8 November, ready for tabling in Parliament.”
Petition pages can be dropped into Mr Cameron’s office at 12-14 George Street, Morwell or by mail to Martin Cameron MP, PO Box 614, Morwell.
