They may not have answers, but Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy and Ovens Valley MLA Tim McCurdy were in Wangaratta on Tuesday, announcing a law and order forum for July 31 to try to find them.

“There have been various violent crimes, quite horrendous crimes, and the community really is disappointed that the city has met the country now and Wangaratta has certainly seen some violent crimes that they’re not used to,” Mr McCurdy said.

“The escalation of the violent crime is a surprise to us all and over the past two or three years, in this region alone, we’ve seen murders that we just haven’t seen in the past.”

Last week’s death of Russell Berry in a violent brawl in White Street came just three weeks after Ora Holt was shot and killed by her partner after fleeing their Belle Avenue home.

A year earlier, Whorouly’s Karen Chetcuti Verbunt and 11-year-old Zoe Buttigieg were both killed within a four-month period.

Mr Guy stopped short of saying law reforms could have prevented these deaths, but put the pressure on the Victorian government to introduce tougher laws.

“It’s the responsibility of the government to get the laws and the bail system and the sentencing regime, to get that right to keep us all safe,” he said

“There are people who are on the streets who should not be on the streets today because our bail system is too weak.”

Mr Guy said the Wangaratta law and order forum was an opportunity for people to tell politicians and lawmakers why they have had enough of crime. 

“A community should be empowered, this is a problem that’s affecting all of us and I want the community tell us: what do they feel should be part of the solution to combat this crime wave?” he said.

Coalition policies around bail reforms and stronger sentencing had first been touted as ideas in law and order forums elsewhere in the state.

“We can do better, we can be safer, we can have stronger laws,” Mr Guy said.

“Victoria is going through an unprecedented crime wave, there’s no doubt about that, and it doesn’t matter if you’re in the city or the country or regional towns – wherever you are, the reality is that crime is on the rise in this state.

“But it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Enough is enough campaign co-founder Tania Maxwell encouraged people to attend the July forum and be a voice for change.

“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for the community to come together and express their concerns in regards to our justice system,” she said.

“We need to be discussing bail, parole, sentencing and support for victims of crime.

“I also think it’s a great platform for the community to discuss the devastating crimes that we’ve had and the impact that it has had on community members – not just the direct families that have been affected, but this affects an entire community.”

Mr McCurdy said crime in Wangaratta was up 10 per cent on the previous year and he wanted to engage community ideas to stem the tide.

“We know the drug ice is insidious through all regional communities – that is behind some of the crimes, not all of them – certainly Wangaratta just seems to have been in the headlines the most in the last couple years and that’s disappointing,” he said.

“Law and order, as we know in Victoria, is spiraling out of control and certainly Wangaratta and the region has seen a disproportional amount of violent crime in the past couple of years so it’s important that we bring the community together and talk about these issues.

“Hopefully we can source some local solutions for local problems.

“Law enforcement are doing the best they can regionally, but resources are at a minimum and we need to make sure we can improve those.”