00:00Member of Parliament for Lavanteliste Mova, Christian Birchwood, believes the absurge in violence in his community is directly linked to
00:08the suffering of his constituents.
00:1148% of the constituents in Lavanteliste Mova, they had a resource, they had a need for a food resource,
00:21followed by another 18% looking for unemployment, looking for employment I should say.
00:28So, that figure by itself, if somebody's coming into the office requesting food, food sustenance, you can almost assume that
00:37they are unemployed.
00:40So that gives you more than 50% of my encounters are directly linked to unemployment.
00:51And when you look at what the government has done over the past year, with the mass firings that occurred,
00:58it's no wonder we now suffer with an issue of crime.
01:02According to the Central Statistical Office, the unemployment rate was 4.3% at the end of 2025.
01:10But Birchwood acknowledges that other factors are at play.
01:14Other factors that contribute would be the influence of gangs and organized crime.
01:21And if a 16-year-old looks out his window and he sees a criminal thriving and his parents unemployed,
01:26what do you think he would do?
01:31The availability of legal firearms, that goes to a very broad topic of border protection, and the long-standing social
01:40and economic inequalities that exist in various communities across the country.
01:45The Minister of Homeland Security has indicated that security measures are being ramped up in Mova.
01:51Meantime, the MP is calling for a bipartisan approach.
01:54We need one that engages communities, not as suspects, but as partners.
02:01And this, I want to reinforce this, is not a moment for political point scoring.
02:09This is a moment for, this is not a moment, I should say, is not a moment for deflection.
02:15This is a moment for unity and a bipartisan approach.
02:22Because crime does not discriminate based on any political affiliation.
02:28Violence does not ask who you voted for.
02:32And grief does not recognize party lines.
02:35Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
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