SYDNEY, March 13, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The Australian state of Victoria will outlaw machetes to try stem an outbreak of "knife crime", its premier said on Thursday, making it the country's first state to impose such a ban.

Broad machete blades -- more commonly used to cut crops or slash through jungle -- will be declared a "prohibited weapon", Jacinta Allan said.

"There's no place for machetes ...on our streets," she said in a post on platform X. "That's why I've announced Australia's first machete ban here in Victoria".

Allan said the ban was part of a government push to "crack down on knife crime".

The Victorian government does not publish dedicated knife crime statistics, but hospitals in state capital Melbourne have in recent years reported a rise in stabbing victims.

Those caught carrying machetes without an exemption face up to two years in jail or a US$30,000 fine.

Most Australian states impose some kind of restriction on the sale and possession of machetes.

The United Kingdom recently introduced new laws making it harder for young people to purchase knives online.