At first blush, there's little common ground between David Crisafulli, the law-and-order Liberal who stormed to power in Queensland, and a Victorian premier from the Labor Party's Socialist-Left.

But with a youth crime crisis battering her government on an almost daily basis, Jacinta Allan has looked north for inspiration, even as she insists her home state is safe.

On Wednesday, the Victorian Government announced that children who commit violent crimes would face adult jail time — including possible life sentences — under sweeping new reforms designed to curb a spike in youth crime.

The new laws, which Allan government is calling "Adult Time for Violent Crime" are expected to be introduced to parliament before the end of the year, and the rhetoric bears a remarkable resemblance to Mr

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