Sunshine Coast murder: David Crisafulli under pressure on youth crime

Premier David Crisafulli is under pressure on his youth crime election pledge after two teens were charged with a stabbing murder.

A shocking alleged murder on the Sunshine Coast has reignited pressure on Premier David Crisafulli’s pledge to reduce crime and make Queensland communities safer.

Two boys, aged 15 and 17, have been charged with the murder of 57-year-old Warana man Zdravko Bilic on Sunday.

They are among the first charged since the LNP introduced its Making Queensland Safer laws in December, which allows magistrates to treat children as adults for some serious offences.

“Following changes we made earlier following our election, any youths found guilty of murder face minimum mandatory life in jail under ‘adult crime, adult time’ and I’ll allow the courts to do their job from here,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“We are not taking a backward step when it comes to dealing with the youth crime crisis in this state.

“We have already strengthened the laws, and we will continue to do so, because youth crime remains front and centre in the minds of Queenslanders and when incidents happen they rock communities to the core.

“My resolve to continue to deal with this is as strong as ever.”

Premier David Crisafulli with Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber on Thursday. Picture: Brendan Radke

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, who represents the electorate where the murder took place, described the incident as sickening.

“We’ve got a family that are dealing with the most tragic and devastating of circumstances,” he said.

Mr Bleijie, speaking generally about youth crime, said the government had acted, but acknowledged there was more to do.

Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said the government had been caught trumpeting the success of “adult crime, adult time” before the alleged stabbing murder.

“It’s a doubled-edged sword for Mr Crisafulli because he came out and claimed adult crime, adult time was already having an effect reducing crime,” he said.

“The Queensland Crime Report showed youth crime was already declining under Labor … the LNP have probably been caught by their own hubris.”

Dr Goldsworthy said the perception of the LNP’s crime pledge was that Queenslanders would not see violent incidents, but argued it was too early to determine if “adult crime, adult time” was working.

Opposition Leader Steven Miles argued Mr Crisafulli’s crime laws had failed.

Opposition Leader Steven Miles on Thursday. Picture: Jacklyn O'Brien

“David Crisafulli needs to explain why his laws have not done what he said they would do,” he said.

“He said that his laws would act as a deterrent, not that they would be a consequence, that they would act as a deterrent.

“With these laws in place these crimes would not occur and he needs to explain to Queenslanders after he promised so much, why they have failed.”

Mr Crisafulli put crime at the centre of his campaign last year, and repeatedly stood alongside victims of Labor’s “crime crisis” including Victor White, whose wife Vyleen was allegedly stabbed to death by a 17-year-old boy at Redbank Plains in February 2024.

Mr Crisafulli pledged to introduce “adult crime, adult time” legislation to act as a deterrent.

“It is about setting consequences for actions to make sure that we can stop crime from occurring and issue that deterrent,” he said.

Mr Crisafulli did not promise crime would “magically be better overnight”, but LNP frontbenchers including now Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber argued changing the government was the “only way we are going to fix the youth crime crisis”.

In October then shadow attorney-general Tim Nicholls, now health minister, said “adult crime, adult time” laws would be a proper deterrent.

He said: “The No.1 issue that’s raised with us is people being safe in their homes, are their cars going to be stolen … are their houses going to be invaded?”

Originally published as Sunshine Coast murder: David Crisafulli under pressure on youth crime