Kylie Lang: Youth crime surges in Qld as incompetence reigns in government

Queenslanders are dying, their loved ones left traumatised, and our taxes are being frittered away by a bunch of incompetents while juvenile criminals have the last laugh, writes Kylie Lang.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles has reassured the good people of Queensland that his government has spent loads of money on curbing youth crime.

Gee, I feel so much better, don’t you?

The impact of these vast sums – our taxes – is obvious when you look at the state of juvenile crime. It’s worse. Thanks for nothing, team Palaszczuk.

Following the latest tragedy – on Monday a 59-year-old man died after a crash involving an allegedly stolen car in Brisbane’s east – Miles attempted to spruik the government’s action on
youth crime.

“We have seen consistent and significant investment into increasing our juvenile justice system and supporting our police,” he told a Tuesday press conference.

“The bulk of youth offenders do not reoffend so the system is effective with those offenders.

“We will continue to take the advice of our police to address reoffending.”

I call BS on that.

Michael Warburton’s scooter is loaded onto a tow track in Brisbane’s east on Monday. Picture: Steve Pohlner

In February last year Miles said he was seriously considering beefing up laws that deal with juveniles.

Here we are, 20 months later, still waiting for the results of his earnest deliberations.

What Miles conveniently left out of his spin is that the 10 per cent of youth deemed chronic offenders commit one-third of all crimes recorded by the cohort.

The 2021 Youth Offending review by the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office also notes juveniles “average more offences during the year than their adult counterparts”. If Miles and his mob actually listened to frontline police, they’d know officers do not, in fact, feel supported by the justice system.

They feel constantly let down by weak court rulings which see them collaring the same kids over and over again.

The senseless death this week of Michael Warburton adds to a damning statistic that even this government – as intent it is on obfuscating the truth and avoiding scrutiny – can’t ignore.

In less than two years, five Queenslanders have died after being the victim of a crash involving juveniles in allegedly stolen vehicles. How many more lives must be lost?

Deputy Premier Steven Miles. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

Mr Warburton – a beloved husband and father described as “a rare gem of a bloke who was always there to help anyone” – joins Jennifer Board, Matthew Field, Kate Leadbetter and their unborn child as the state’s most recent fatal victims.

Two teens, aged 15 and 16, have been charged over the crash which caused Mr Warburton’s death, while two other 15-year-olds have been charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

The alleged driver has also been charged with burglary, unlicensed driving and failure to remain at the scene of
a crash.

In February 2021 – pushed by public fury over the deaths of Matthew Field, Kate Leadbetter and their baby – the government promised to look into a “number of options”.

It set up a Youth Justice Taskforce (because we need more committees) and made absurd amendments to the relevant act.

These being that an offender who reoffends while on bail must “show cause” as to why they should get bail again; and that bail can be granted after seeking the support of a parent.

Presumably, these are the same hopeless parents to whom Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk referred after her over-hyped State of the State address on Wednesday.

She said parents needed to take more responsibility for their children. Don’t hold
your breath.

The government also trialled, poorly, the use of GPS trackers on offenders aged 16 and over.

The trial was meant to last for 12 months but didn’t, and only six kids were fitted with the devices.

When quizzed in May, Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard refused to discuss the efficacy of the trial, instead throwing forward to an independent review being finalised by former police commissioner Bob Atkinson (who proposed the idea of trackers in 2018 but why rush?).

Well now that review is complete.

However, in keeping with the Palaszczuk government’s pitiful record on transparency, it refuses to make it public. No guesses as to why.

Queenslanders are dying, their loved ones left traumatised, and our taxes are being frittered away by a bunch of incompetents while juvenile criminals have the last laugh.

Kylie Lang is associate editor of The Courier-Mail

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