This time it’s not by rate rises or tax hikes, but by low-life people who think it’s their right to steal what’s not rightfully theirs.

Tradies, it seems, are the latest target for thieves who think it’s okay to walk into another person’s home and take whatever they want.

It many of these cases, it is to feed a drug habit.

What makes their actions worse is they not only steal tools and trailers, but vehicles as well. 

And instead of just dumping the vehicles after they’ve been for a joyride, these thieves decide to set fire to them, destroying them.

These tradies are people who have done the hard yards to be able to go out on their own and set up a business. Many of them are young people with families – mouths to feed, mortgages or rent to pay and bills coming in.

They may have saved for years to buy the tools of their trade, or they may have taken a loan to pay for the equipment. Without their tools and a vehicle, these hard-working people have no way to earn a living.

In the latest spate, which continued at the weekend, a brazen thief walked into a Ballarat electrician’s shed and stole equipment. 

The thieves aren’t discriminating between tradies either, with carpenters, painters and builders also targeted.

Miners Rest and Invermay Park properties have been the hardest hit, with some thieves also stealing cars. 

Social media has been buzzing since The Courier last weekend published articles about the spate of thefts, with some blaming the victims for not securing their property well enough.

Yet some of these local victims have their own CCTV equipment, padlocks on doors and gates – and still these offenders break in.

It’s easy to blame the victim by saying they should be ultra-vigilant when it comes to securing their home, their property, their tools. 

But the real question here is why is the problem escalating? Is it due to lack of respect? Should the legal system be tougher on criminals? 

Are we, as a community, looking at what the underlying problem really is for criminals? Why do these people think it’s okay to take someone’s livelihood? 

Is the real problem more to do with paying for drugs? Why do they feel the need to rely on drugs?

These are issues which need addressing before a solution can be found. Nip the drug problem in the bud and, hopefully, the theft problem will follow suit.