Multiple teens arrested over alleged machete brawl in Melbourne as government says crime laws working

The Victorian government has defended the effectiveness of its machete ban after multiple teens were arrested over an alleged machete brawl in the heart of Melbourne . Shocked commuters ran for cover after a group of youths – some armed with machetes – brawled at Melbourne’s Flinders Street station concourse on Saturday night. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Protective Services Officers converged on the station, boarding a train where four boys were arrested, and machetes were seized. Another pair was arrested near the precinct. A 17-year-old boy who was injured during the brawl was taken to hospital with a laceration to his arm. Police charged a 22-year-old man with affray, reckless cause injury, assault with a weapon and possessing a prohibited weapon, who was bailed to appear Melbourne magistrates court on 27 November. The remaining five, aged 13, 14, 15 and two 16-year-olds, were released. The government minister Harriet Shing said changes to bail laws, a machete ban, new post-and-boast laws and the introduction of a violence reduction unit were starting to show in a drop in crime statistics. “What we are doing is working,” she told reporters on Sunday. …