It didn’t get as much attention as his plea to be allowed to reintroduce facial recognition technology.

But Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott’s remarks about Bunnings’ fastest-selling products are perhaps even more of an indictment of the lawlessness that now seems to be common in Victoria.

After antagonising business leaders with draconian Covid lockdowns and, more recently, proposing to legislate WFH as a right for workers, the state has further dismayed them with its thus far blasé approach to rising crime.

Scott observed that Victorian sales across Wesfarmers’ portfolio – Bunnings, Kmart, Target, and Officeworks – have been disappointing, with one notable exception.

“The only area where we’re seeing stronger growth in Victoria is the sale of home security products within Bunnings,” he said.

“It’s quite a sad statistic to be sharing.”

Even the Victorian Police are now drawing attention to the problem. A police spokesman told the Herald Sun last month that “sustained cost of living pressures” had driven retail theft to record highs.

He went on to say, “Many people have turned to shop stealing for the first time, while organised criminals are also on-selling stolen goods, such as groceries and alcohol, as costs soar. Victoria Police has arrested hundreds of shoplifters across the state in the past year as part of coordinated operations.”

There are plenty of examples of Victoria’s growing crime problems, but one of the more attention-grabbing is the incidence of meat theft.

Research from retail crime intelligence firm Auror shows that the theft of meat from supermarkets, typically carried out by organised crime groups, has been increasing for some time.

Coles CEO Leah Weckert has frequently complained that meat stolen from Coles regularly turns up in restaurants, pop-up shops and even footpath stalls.

Victoria’s theft problem is finally getting some serious attention

Law enforcement agencies have backed her claims.

Endeavour, which owns Dan Murphy’s and BWS, faces similar issues in Victoria. It’s had to lock away expensive spirits and premium wine and install auto-lock doors.

“We have also deployed similar technology as the big supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, such as body cams and VR to train staff on how to deal with challenging scenarios,” an Endeavour spokeswoman said.

Crime issues are now attracting so much negative press that Jacinta Allan is promising to fast-track the tougher anti-theft laws she first flagged 18 months ago.

“I heard the challenges that those businesses are experiencing in terms of the crime and the issues of theft in our retail industry,” the premier said earlier this week.

She went on to promise, “We’ll be bringing to parliament later this year legislation to put in place tougher penalties for people who engage in retail worker harm because retail workers also deserve to be protected.”

The most recent Crime Statistics Agency data show that, as of March 31, 2025, total theft offences had increased by 32% and retail theft incidents had risen by 46% year-on-year in Victoria.