Bec Judd’s war of words with Dan Andrews twist as Brighton MP accuses Premier of ‘victim blaming
Liberal Brighton MP James Newbury has accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews of ‘victim blaming’ for dismissing AFL WAG Rebecca Judd’s fears about crime in her area.
Judd clashed with Mr Andrews last week after she accused his government of not doing enough to combat crime in her posh Melbourne suburb of Brighton.
The Premier rubbished her complaint that she felt unsafe – a move Mr Newbury says is unacceptable.
‘It’s a deeply disturbing way for a Premier to respond’: Liberal Brighton MP James Newbury has accused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (right) of ‘victim blaming’ for dismissing AFL WAG Rebecca Judd’s (left) fears about local crime
‘It doesn’t matter who this woman is or what’s her postcode, when she raised the fact that she was scared because a home invasion occurred in her street, the Premier dismissed her and victim blamed her,’ Mr Newbury told The Herald Sun on Monday.
‘It’s a deeply disturbing way for a Premier to respond to a woman’s concern about her safety,’ he added.
Mr Newbury had similar words for the Premier on Sunday, Tweeting: ‘How dare Daniel Andrews attack a woman because she feels unsafe – what a creep.’
Judd clashed with Mr Andrews last week after she accused his government of not doing enough to combat crime in her posh Melbourne suburb of Brighton. The premier rubbished her complaint that she felt unsafe
‘This behaviour sounds a lot like victim blaming. There have been three home invasions in Brighton this week, a police shooting, and many more home invasions in local streets over recent months.’
Victoria Police launched Operation Ibis last week and have already arrested and charged 14 people.
Mr Newbury claimed residents were so scared they were hiring private security to protect them.
Weighing into the debate on Monday, Mr Newbury (pictured) told The Herald Sun: ‘It doesn’t matter who this woman is or what’s her postcode, when she raised the fact that she was scared because a home invasion occurred in her street, the Premier dismissed her and victim blamed her’
Mr Newbury had similar words for the Premier on Sunday, Tweeting: ‘How dare Daniel Andrews attack a woman because she feels unsafe – what a creep.
Mr Newbury’s post came hours after Mr Andrews publicly rubbished Mrs Judd’s complaint that she felt unsafe in her $7.3 million mansion in Brighton.
Judd had claimed in an Instagram post on Thursday that her state government didn’t ‘seem to care’ or be doing anything about the ‘rapes, bashings and home invasions at the hands of the gangs in Bayside’.
‘I’m not interested in having an argument with Ms Judd,’ Mr Andrews said on Sunday.
The premier said he was ‘not interested in having an argument with Ms Judd’ after she said she felt unsafe in her Brighton home in an Instagram post on Thursday
‘The most recent crime statistics released by an independent agency would not support those sweeping assessments’: The Victorian Premier rubbished the mother-of-four’s claims on Sunday, insisting recent crime statistics in her affluent suburb of Brighton don’t support her fears
‘I’m also obliged to point out though, I think there are more than 70 additional police in the Bayside area, and the most recent crime statistics released by an independent agency would not support those sweeping assessments about patterns of crime.’
Mr Andrews said an additional 500 police officers and 50 public service officers were deployed as part of May’s state budget.
‘I say this respectfully to Bec Judd, or anybody – I don’t want anybody to feel unsafe,’ he said.
Upset: On Thursday, Judd slammed Andrews’ government for not doing enough to combat ‘rapes, bashings and home invasions’ in her posh suburb
‘I’m sorry she feels that way. The data would tell a different story, but it is about personal feelings and your sense of safety.
‘I hope that knowing those things, or perhaps learning those things, puts her mind at ease.’
Judd lives in the sprawling mansion in Brighton in the city’s southeast with her husband, retired AFL star Chris Judd, and their four children.
The good life: She lives in a $7.3million mansion in Brighton in the city’s southeast with her husband, retired AFL star Chris Judd (right), and their four children
Her home boasts a gym, a tennis court that can be turned into ‘a footy oval or cricket pitch’, and a magnesium salt pool.
There is also a spacious wet bar complete with a snooker table and a bar.
Judd wrote in her Instagram post: ‘So sick of the rapes, bashings and home invasions at the hands of the gangs in Bayside.
‘I personally know two women who have experienced home invasions in Brighton in the last few weeks while they were at home.’
She reposted CCTV footage of a group of young men lurking outside properties in her affluent suburb and claimed it made her feel ‘unsafe’.
The teenagers, who were allegedly armed with knives, were filmed lurking outside several properties in the Bayside area before crashing a stolen BMW into a tree.
Scared: ‘So sick of the rapes, bashings and home invasions at the hands of the gangs in Bayside,’ Bec wrote to Instagram
Source: | Dailymail.co.uk