Libertarians have been talking about the right to self-defence for centuries, but the idea has gained a lot of popularity lately in my state of Victoria.

More than 20,000 people signed a petition I sponsored supporting castle law, easily enough to trigger a debate under new provisions in Victoria’s parliament.

The only people I meet who don’t seem to believe you should be allowed to defend your family in your own home is the small group sitting on my left – both literally and figuratively – in the upper house of the parliament.

I suppose in one way they are right not to care about self-defence. It is very safe on the cushions in the chamber, behind the gates which are also protected by surveillance and armed security.

However, as the petition shows, my constituents in the suburbs of Melbourne are not quite so comfortable.

But we need to take a moment to examine the long and bizarre chain of events that led us here.

One part of the problem started when activists were appointed to leadership positions in public health, and some gullible people in Canberra took their advice to increase tobacco taxes to ridiculous levels.

Nobody wants to see young teenagers going to jail and graduating from criminal university

They can’t say they weren’t warned. Libertarian Senator David Leyonhjelm said this in federal parliament back in 2016:

“Another effect of the tax increase will be the continued growth of the illegal tobacco market. This accounts for about 14 per cent of the total tobacco market, as measured by KPMG. The government receives no revenue from the organised crime gangs that run this market and is now missing out on over a billion dollars a year in tobacco excise.”

Fourteen per cent is now a very modest estimate, and legal tobacco is increasingly confined to the rich and the reckless.

Just like our public health officials, Australia’s tobacco and vaping policy is now the worst in the world. Smoking, which remains the biggest preventable cause of death, is now increasing amongst young people, and hundreds of thousands of Australians are vaping unknown substances from unregulated vapes and smokes available in every neighbourhood.

People can get vapes and smokes easily and billions of dollars are going to organised crime. Now the tobacco companies are talking seriously about leaving the entire market to organised crime and, presumably, reducing tax revenue to something approaching zero.

In Victoria, prohibition kicked off a reign of terror - a turf war between organised crime groups that has seen hundreds of shops in otherwise quiet neighbourhoods set ablaze - more than 150 at the time of writing - and probably a few more by the time you read this.

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The criminals behind this have been directing the fireworks from overseas and recruiting young and vulnerable people to break into homes and steal cars for use in the frequent arson attacks. Where the billions in illicit tobacco and vape profits go is a whole other story - I strongly suspect it is being laundered through the construction industry, and could be funding very dubious activities in the Middle East.

This has coincided with a period where the Victorian justice system got the balance badly wrong.

Nobody wants to see young teenagers going to jail and graduating from criminal university into a life of crime. But the Victorian Government has been so intent on avoiding this that teenage offenders have been in a revolving door, many being caught and charged with dozens of offences and swiftly released with a caution.

Police I have spoken to explained how the mates of these kids see this and realise that crime really does pay. It can be profitable, glamorous, and has no real consequences. The result is that a large majority of crimes are committed by a very small cohort of repeat offenders.

To commit these offences, teenagers are stealing cars. I hear that for many of them, it is a game to steal high end vehicles. And to steal cars these days, you need to go into people’s homes and get the keys.

But for people who have their homes invaded, it is not a game. I have spoken to a number of people who have had this experience, and it is highly traumatic. For many it shatters the feeling of sanctuary for their family and the trust they have in their community. Some decide to sell up and leave.

People can get vapes and smokes easily and billions of dollars are going to organised crime

What helps them with this decision is the uncertainty about their right to protect themselves. In Victoria, self-defence is only available as a legal defence if a person has a reasonable belief that they are facing a threat to their life or serious bodily harm.

What this means in practice is anybody’s guess. So it’s quite possible, if not inevitable, that one of these days, someone defending their family could wind up in jail, while the kids responsible for the home invasions are let loose.

Meanwhile, women are not even allowed to carry pepper spray. Everyone to my left in parliament even voted against having an inquiry into this. Sadly now, every time we hear about a violent attack, I cannot help but wonder if there could have been a different outcome had the victim been allowed to even up the odds.

I think there should be no uncertainty. If someone invades your home and threatens the safety of your family, the law should have your back if you are defending your life, family and property.

It remains to be seen whether recently announced toughening of laws in Victoria will make any difference to crime, but the root cause of many of these problems is tobacco policy.

And if money talks, then the multi-billion-dollar illicit tobacco and vaping trade will always have the last word.

Castle Law – Protecting What’s Yours