I've got a relatively small stand of bamboo growing in my backyard and I have no idea how I would control it if I didn't have a machete. It would take over my whole yard in one or two growing seasons if I didn't spend some time every spring hacking away at the new growth.
this post was submitted on 25 May 2025
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You can make one with an angle grinder and about half an hour. This is dumb.
Absolutely carrying them around town should be illegal, but they are super useful in rural settings.
If you ban the tool, people who legitimately use the tool are harmed, and the people who abuse the tool will just find something else.
It's not like it's banned across Canada. They will still be available elsewhere on the island even.
This is just as dumb as local city and state gun laws in the US. Gun nuts point at them and point out how they don't work. Like no shit they don't work when you can just drive for 20 mins and get one.
Edit: okay I got lost . I thought this was about the Canadian city of Victoria. Turns out it's..not. I'm leaving this here as a monument of my stupidity.
Victoria is kind of like a Canada of Australia, you're all good 🤣
You can still use it companies just can't sell them anymore
And how are you going to get one in the first place?
Are lawn mowers now banned for being full auto machetes?
A lawnmower fight at a shopping centre would be... different.
I legitimately don't know the specific use case of a machete, what is it?
Rural NSW bushland - heaps of people around here have machetes and cane knives. Useful for cutting through vines, small saplings, lantana, etc. My cane knife is probably my 3rd most used tool when doing outdoor work on my property.
Yeah fair enough. You will still be able to use and keep the one you've got though. It's a sales ban not an ownership ban
And what happens when it breaks and you need a new one?
To be clear, this was already in the works, it's not just a knee-jerk response, but they're bringing in an immediate ban instead of waiting for the originally-legislated date in September.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-14/machete-knife-crime-victoria-explainer/105049700
Ah thanks for the extra information, shame it’s still garbage.
Machetes are already "controlled weapons", which mean they cannot be possessed or carried without a lawful excuse, but under Premier Jacinta Allan's new proposal, they will be banned.
People who need them will be able to apply for a permit, so not a complete ban:
Under the new laws, Victorians who legitimately require them such as farmers or hunters will be required to apply for exemptions.
People need to get a permit for a gardening implement? That might as well be a ban because noone is going to do that.
That will either stymie a lot of people who do legitimately need one or be useless. For example I have a machete and several legitimate uses for it - clearing a bunch of running bamboo on my (residential) block, clearing blackberry etc from single track for the dirt bike, and clearing lantana etc on my grandad's property. If they require something like proof of owning rural land I would be blocked from legitimate use (if I lived in Vic), if they take me at my word what's to stop any man and his dog claiming similar and then we're back where we started but with more bureaucracy.
Nothing like a good moral panic to make people throw reason out the window. Carrying a machete without a reasonable cause is already illegal and clearly didn't stop these people, banning them altogether will just make things hard for those who would use them legally.
It's the same level of thinking as some pelican near me who was calling for a 40km/h zone due to a recent accident. The existing laws against taking illegal drugs, stealing cars, staying on the road, and not speeding over the current limit didn't stop the guy who caused it, but he sure would have listened to a 40km/h sign...
I kept waiting for the punchline, I thought this is sarcastically mimicking the American arguments against gun regulations.
As far as I'm aware there isn't a thriving jungle expedition scene in Victoria. And slower roads are just safer. They objectively save lives.
As far as I’m aware there isn’t a thriving jungle expedition scene in Victoria
You don't know what people actually use machetes for, but they look scary so lets make a snide comment suggesting there's no reason to have them. That's exactly the sort of knee jerk reaction which makes for dumb laws like this.
"You don't know what people actually use machetes for"
There was actually this really cool news story that just came out about what people are actually using them for
There was actually this really cool news story that just came out about what people are actually using them for
There's been this really cool news story recently about what people are using foraged mushrooms for, better ban doing that pronto because it's clearly dangerous and there's no chance anyone else is doing it safely...
Next up... Why are lead pipes legal?
"Believe the hype, you never know when you'll need an iron pipe."
At least these young people were out socialising instead of at home on social media.
Hackers IRL
Dear Australia
It won't make a difference
Sincerely The UK
Oh of course, and it's such a non-issue already. Knee-jerk reaction by state govt.
Not really, it was already planned:
‘Do this now’: Premier’s fast-track after machete violence
They were expected to take effect from September 1, giving police time to prepare for the changes, according to Allan.
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/crime-news/2025/05/26/northland-machete-ban-victoria
But she has brought it forward thanks to people like this lovely chap:
Also these 2 died earlier in the year because of gang violence in Melbourne:
Multiple young men have lost their lives in fatal stabbing incidents in suburban Melbourne in recent months, including 24-year-old Lino Atem in January and just over a month later, 24-year-old Natan Mwanza.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-14/machete-knife-crime-victoria-explainer/105049700
Melbourne has massive issues with violence and it has been going on for years now
Victorian crime at highest rate since 2016, driven by car thefts and young offenders
Victoria Police said a hardcore group of young offenders aged between 14 and 17 were responsible for the sharp rise in aggravated home burglaries.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-20/victoria-crime-car-theft-youth-offenders-police/105074300
This is Australia, we are a first world country and you have every opportunity to better yourself, we shouldn't have criminal scum like this running around.
This might be one of those,
- We have to do something
- This is something
- We must do this.
It completely depends on how the rules are implemented however. It isn't just knee jerk policy and has been in the works for a bit. I do hope it works.
Tackling violence takes serious commitment to complex and intensive programs that focus on the root causes, particularly among at-risk families and disadvantaged, marginalised youth.
This is hard work that takes a long time, includes many different stakeholders, and seldom sways votes. Focusing on the choice of weapon is simply a distraction.
There is no question the sight of machete-wielding youths storming through a busy shopping centre is terrifying. People should be able to go about their business without fearing they will be attacked.
But reducing violence takes a lot more than banning one particular weapon, as Victoria will likely find out.
Cars kill way more people and they're not suggesting we ban cars.