Push for Wellcamp white elephant to become delinquent detention

There are calls to turn the defunct Wellcamp Covid-19 quarantine hub into a centre for repeat juvenile offenders. VOTE NOW

There are calls to turn a defunct Covid-19 quarantine hub into a centre for repeat juvenile offenders, while the state government failed to commit to reviewing or changing the laws as a result of Emma Lovell’s death.

Jim Keogh, who was tasked with heading the war on bikies after a series of high-profile crimes on the Glitter Strip, said the Wellcamp hub could be converted to accommodate repeat juvenile offenders who could contribute to society by helping to counter worker shortages on farms in the countryside around Toowoomba.

“This hasn’t just crept up overnight – it has been escalating for years because there simply isn’t enough of a deterrent,” he said.

“Wellcamp is a white elephant that could easily be converted into an offender rehabilitation centre and you could get them working for farmers, learning some skills and contributing to society. Hopefully they return to society as a better person.

“Farmers out there are screaming out for labour because they don’t have the volume of international backpackers that they used to.”

Mr Keogh’s calls follow a press conference in which Police Minister Mark Ryan said the government had introduced youth justice laws that were “amongst the strongest in the nation”, but fell short of ordering a review into the North Lakes tragedy.

Pressed on whether there needed to be changes to the Youth Justice Act, Mr Ryan said “it is a reflection of the community the laws that are passed”.

“It would be naive of anyone to think that governments or parliaments wouldn’t change laws again but certainly the government has toughened laws in recent times,” he said.

“The government has been criticised since those changes around more young people being in custody for longer but it is my firm belief that that helps keep the community safe for longer – it is one way of disrupting the offending.”

Mr Ryan said youth offending required a “holistic and systematic response”.

There’s a push to turn the Wellcamp facility a centre for repeat juvenile offenders. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli says nothing short of strengthening the Youth Justice Act will cut it, while accusing the government of “losing control” of young offenders.

Mr Crisafulli said there must be a commitment “that the rights of a family come ahead of the rights of a young offender”, saying it should be made today.

“What happened to Ms Lovell on Boxing Day … has shocked the state and it shocked the state because it could have happened to anyone,” he said. “And it must be the catalyst for change.

“Over the last seven years there is a generation of repeat young offenders who know their way around the law.

“They know that as a result of a watering down of the Youth Justice Act that the law is designed to put their rights in many ways ahead of the rights of the victim. There isn’t consequences for action.

“And there has to be a commitment that that comes back. So that the rights of the victim, the rights of the family can come first and foremost.”

Originally published as Push for Wellcamp white elephant to become delinquent detention