Machetes and swords get the chop as new laws begin

Perth Now

6 hours ago

Owners of machetes or swords have three months to surrender their weapons as another state falls into line with an Australia-wide crackdown on dangerous knives.
The surrender of the blades, to be classified as prohibited weapons, takes effect in South Australia from July.
They can be handed in anonymously until the end of September following the passage of tough new laws after a spate of stabbings in neighbouring Victoria.
The SA move also comes after Victoria, NSW, Queensland and WA all introduced tough laws in recent months in a bid to combat the growing number of knife crimes.
Along with the ban on machetes and swords, the SA government is raising the purchase age for all dangerous knives from 16 to 18.
"We have acted swiftly and decisively in response to incidents interstate to prepare the strongest laws in the country to protect our community from the menace of knife crime," said Attorney-General Kyam Maher on Sunday.
"We haven't gotten to that stage in South Australia with some of these incidents ... interstate but that's the exact point of passing these sorts of laws to make sure we don't get to that point."Those who break the new laws from Tuesday face up to two years in jail or a $20,000 fine.
The laws also expand offences around the possession of knives and offensive weapons at schools, childcare centres, universities and places of worship.They build on a previous efforts to give police stronger powers to conduct metal detector searches at shopping centres or public transport stations.Assistant Police Commissioner Narelle Kameniar said knife crime was a national problem that needed to be tackled collectively.
"It (knife crime) is not unique to South Australia...it is of concern to us," she told reporters.
"We've seen a number of incidents occur interstate as well so there's lots of jurisdictions bringing in legislation in relation to knife crime."
Almost a quarter of all homicide victims nationwide in 2023 involved the wielding of a knife - about 100 victims in total.
Ms Kameniar said concerns around weapon possession extended across adults and youth alike but she was optimistic new restrictions would help rein in the number of young people carrying bladed weapons.
Particular exemptions for collector items or religious purposes, such as samurai swords, are written into the laws.