Staff Reports
Australia’s latest wave of machete attacks reveals a stark disconnect between government policy and reality, raising alarms about where society is heading when basic common sense is set aside. Just days ago in Melbourne, a gruesome incident unfolded as teenagers ambushed an innocent man outside a pharmacy, slashing him with a machete and nearly severing his hand. In another recent attack, a 14-year-old boy was targeted by a group of men armed with machetes in a bustling mall. These horrifying crimes, committed by youths who should be in school or under parental supervision, bring the failure of social and legal safeguards into sharp relief.
While Victoria’s leaders rushed to implement bans and amnesty bins for machete disposal, this is little more than a feel-good gesture with scant evidence of genuine effectiveness. The sale of machetes won’t be stopped by simply posting new laws on government websites. As violence surges, criminals seem unphased by these gestural bans, with attacks occurring back to back even after restrictions were announced. Government can draft legislation until they’re blue in the face, but until law enforcement starts enforcing these laws with real consequences, we’re left with empty words and shattered lives. There’s a lesson here that gun control advocates in America might pay attention to: banning objects doesn’t magically stop determined offenders.
Yet it isn’t just the government that’s dropped the ball. The absence of parental accountability is glaring. Australian law technically holds parents responsible for their children’s actions, but in practice, authorities rarely pursue or enforce these rules. Teen violence continues to rise, often with barely a slap on the wrist for the adults supposedly guiding these young men and women. By refusing to confront the breakdown in family values, society encourages indifference and disrespect for law and order. This is a direct consequence of eroding traditional family structures — children lose discipline when fathers and mothers are no longer held to account.
It’s hard to ignore how progressive policies have contributed to this chaos. Instead of respecting the basics that hold Western civilization together — faith in the family, the importance of parental oversight, and a culture of personal responsibility — we keep handing government more power to regulate, restrict, and ban. If anything, these policies have shown that stripping rights without addressing root causes only weakens social fabric and leaves communities more vulnerable.
If Australia truly wants to restore public safety, it needs to do more than install machete bins and pass new bans. Real change starts in the home, with parents taking responsibility, and communities reinforcing time-tested values of respect and discipline. Until that happens, society will remain trapped in a cycle of reactive laws and endemic violence, watching helplessly as the bonds of tradition and common sense dissolve.
