Owner of 80 Proof Liquor, Danny Grant, says he feels justice was not served in the sentencing of the two teens responsible for the April 2026 arson of his Keysborough factory.
Because arson is not one of the offences in the Justice Legislation Amendment (Community Safety) Bill 2025 that is tried in adult court, the minors involved in the arson at Keysborough distillery were handed 12 and 15-month youth supervision orders.
“For these teens to get a slap on the wrist and no time behind bars for $350,000 worth of damage is ridiculous,” he said.
“I’ve had to let eight staff go; these staff are good people – from single mothers to young people just coming into the workforce.”
Mr Grant says he backs calls from Opposition Police and Corrections spokesman, Brad Battin, to introduce tougher penalties for youth arson.
“If you can burn down a factory and get a slap on the wrist, why wouldn’t you?”
Mr Grant says friends in the hospitality industry are feeling let down by the Allan government’s response.
“We are Melbourne’s biggest ambassadors. And yet, we were getting accused of selling fake vodka and being bootleggers, and it was a slap in the face, because it’s just not true.”
Associate Professor Dr Marietta Martinovic, a criminologist at RMIT University, said it was inappropriate to give minors sentences from adult crime law.
“The main problem with these policies is the assumption that young people’s brains have already been developed and are thinking like adult brains,” she said. “All the science and research is showing that the deterrence factor does not work with young people.”
Dr Martinovic says tougher sentences for minors may produce a short‑term drop in offending at best, but risked worse outcomes when those young people are eventually released.
“We need to be thinking about what kind of person we are releasing in five or ten years,” she said.
Dr Martinovic says understanding the complex reasons young people offend is key.
“Why they’re engaging is because they are feeling misunderstood, unsupported, disengaged,” she said.
“Once again, it’s about looking at providing social spaces of inclusion, peers, back to basics, activities that connect people to society.”
A spokesperson from Victoria Police said that Operation Eclipse was established in April to target a range of serious organised crime syndicates believed to be “pulling the strings” behind the attacks.
“Investigators are continuing to look at all possible motivations behind the offending, including who is involved and why”, a spokesperson from Victoria Police said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Feature image: Image Credit: Gideon Tsang/ Flickr. licensed as CC BY-SA 2.0. https://flic.kr/p/47gMB
