LNP warned youth curfew plan could breach international law

Justice advocates and a youth service organisation have condemned the LNP's controversial plan to trial a youth curfew in perceived crime hotspots Cairns and Townsville, with warnings it could breach international law and entrench disadvantage.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the "tough on crime" curfew would ban children under the age of 14 from leaving their homes without an adult after 8pm, while those aged 15 to 17 would be required to be home by 10pm.

LNP leader Deb Frecklington and Townsville-region candidates walk along the Strand in week one of the campaign.Credit: Matt Dennien

Those caught outside after hours would be taken by police to a "community refuge" for supervision and their parents fined $250 on each occasion.

Police and politicians have pointed to a small group of repeat offenders as partly responsible for above-average crime rates in the region. Statewide data shows an overall decline in the number of offenders and a shift in age towards those aged 25 and older.

"This will not be a statewide initiative but the scale of the youth crime problem in Townsville demands a strong response from government," Ms Frecklington said, while announcing the plan in the marginal region on Wednesday.

Amnesty International Indigenous advocate Joel Mackay warned that, as Australia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the proposal "potentially breaches international law".

"The Committee on the Rights of the Child and the UN World Report on Violence Against Children have all called for the abolition of status offences, such as curfews, to achieve equal treatment for children and adults," he said.

Mr Mackay said the pre-emptive move would "only entrench cycles of disadvantage, poverty, poor health and racism" and drive more young people into the justice system.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service Queensland chief executive Shane Duffy said a curfew would put more pressure on police.

Townsville-based chief executive of Queensland Youth Services Wendy Lang said placing the curfew on tens of thousands of young people because of the actions of the roughly two-dozen was "not fair or just".

While understanding the frustrations held by some in the community around perceptions of crime, she said more resources should be dedicated to understanding why young people were out at night and addressing the reasons behind this.

Many families who received the fines would also be unable to pay and end up being referred to the State Penalties Enforcement Registry, Ms Lang said.

"Whacking fines on families isn't going to provide a solution," she said.

Youth Justice Department data showed most young people entering the system did so with complex and vulnerable backgrounds, with young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people vastly over-represented.

In 2003, a similar curfew was rolled out in Western Australia.

A 2017 report by Edith Cowan University into its effectiveness, published just months before then-LNP leader Tim Nicholls proposed a Townsville curfew heading into that year's state election, found it did not reduce crime.

Asked about the new announcement while her own campaign took to the tightly contested seats around Townsville, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stopped short of criticising it directly but said she was confused.

"Well, my understanding is [Ms Frecklington] couldn't even explain how it's going to work," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"I mean, it doesn't really cut the mustard, does it?"

Police Minister Mark Ryan said while there were still "too many young people committing crime" the curfew was a "simplistic answer to a complex problem".

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