Opposition says Far North Queensland needs more FASD facilities to respond to youth crime

The Opposition says Cairns should be home to a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) testing facility after the region was named the youth crime capital of Queensland.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy and Opposition Youth Justice spokeswoman Di Farmer met in Cairns to call on the Queensland government to introduce free and mandatory FASD testing for at-risk children in Queensland. Picture: Molly Frew

The Opposition says Cairns should be home to a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) testing facility after the region was named the worst in Queensland for youth crime last year.

But the state government has hit back, saying the previous government ignored youth crime for a decade.

It comes after the Cairns Post launched Cause and Effect in April, a campaign highlighting the two year waiting times for public FASD testing in Queensland.

Cairns MP Michael Healy and Opposition Youth Justice spokeswoman Di Farmer threw their support behind the campaign on Tuesday, joining calls for the state government to introduce free and mandatory Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) testing for at-risk children.

“The Crisafulli government has told everybody that they’d be hard on crime,” Mr Healy said.

“We’re not seeing that. The only legislation we’ve seen is they’re locking people up for longer … that is not going to provide a safer community the long run.”

The Crisafulli government introduced amended ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ laws on April 1, meaning youth offenders would receive tougher penalties for twenty more offences.

While crime has dropped across the state, between January and March, the number of robberies and vehicle thefts in Far North Queensland increased by 33.33 per cent and 12.67 per cent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2024.

Mr Healy and Ms Farmer in Cairns. Picture: Molly Frew

Mr Healy said compulsory FASD testing was a long-term solution to youth crime.

“We need to see legislation and support services to be well backed … one of these is obviously recognising FASD and the importance in acknowledging how absolutely fundamental it is for young kids that are born with (it),” he said.

It’s understood the state government screens all children entering youth detention for FASD but Ms Farmer said screening children after they had offended was not effective.

“This is not just about addressing the issue with children who are already in the system – we need to start right from the beginning,” Ms Farmer said.

“Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber needs to put her money where her mouth is when it comes to addressing FASD.

“She said when she was in Cairns recently that she recognised the impacts and that more needs to be done.

“We are urging (Ms Gerber) to pick up the phone to the Health Minister, Tim Nicholls, and immediately commit to free, mandatory FASD testing for all at-risk young children in Queensland.”

Member for Cairns Michael Healy and Shadow Minister for Youth Justice Di Farmer met in Cairns to call on the Queensland government to introduce free and mandatory FASD testing for at-risk children in Queensland. Picture: Molly Frew

The closest FASD diagnostic clinic to Cairns is in Townsville but it only accepts referrals for children living in the Townsville Hospital and Health Service area.

Mr Healy said there needed to be more diagnosis facilities in the Far North.

“We don’t even have a (diagnosis) service up here,” Mr Healy said.

“So for me, I would be saying to the government, how can you seriously be telling us that you’re going to address this issue when you don’t even have the infrastructure here?”

Barron River MP Bree James acknowledged FASD was a “huge problem” and said prevention was better than cure.

“It’s great that (the Opposition) are finally talking that crime is a problem. They’ve had a decade where they’ve done nothing and have ignored that there’s a crime problem in our region,” she said.

Minister for Youth Justice Laura Gerber and Member for Barron River Bree James attended the crime Rally for Justice protest in Cairns in February. Picture: Brendan Radke

“That’s a question for the Health Minister though, to see the direction he would like to take that.”

Ms James said her government needed more time to address the crisis.

“You’ve got to remember our government has not even been in for six months yet … it’s going to take us a long time to sort this out. Six months just isn’t enough time,” she said.

“FASD is not to be fixed overnight. What we need to draw the attention to is what’s happening on the ground right now.”

Ms James said she would support a FASD diagnostic clinic in Cairns.

“Whatever is of the benefit for our region and gets us back on track and helps with this issue, of course you have our full support,” she said.

Cairns was named the youth crime hotspot of the state in December 2024.

Originally published as Opposition says Far North Queensland needs more FASD facilities to respond to youth crime