Krista Adams proposes jail time be doubled for attacks on bus drivers

Jail time would be doubled for attacks on bus drivers under a proposal backed by Brisbane’s deputy mayor and being considered by the State Government. But the union says the plan ignores one fact.

PRISON time would be doubled for attacks on bus drivers under a proposal backed by Brisbane deputy mayor and being considered by the State Government.

Deputy mayor Krista Adams has written to Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath to ask for jail time for those who assault a bus driver to increase from seven to 14 years.

It comes just weeks after The Courier-Mail revealed attacks on bus drivers had risen more than 40 per cent from January to July, compared with the same time last year.

Cr Adams, who holds the council’s public transport portfolio, said it was clear some in the community had “zero respect” for drivers.

Adrian Schrinner and Krista Adams at a Brisbane City Council meeting. File picture

“They spit at them, hurl abuse, hit them, threaten them with all sorts of objects and our drivers need back up in their roles as public-facing transit officers,” she said.

She said the legislation did nothing to deter those crimes, so the council was asking the State Government to step up and do its duty to protect bus drivers across the city.

“So that we’ve got a law that is serious enough that the next time someone thinks about hurling abuse at a bus driver or throwing a bottle in their face, they’ll think twice when there’s a 14-year penalty,” she said.

A spokesperson for Ms D’Ath said: “This issue is already under consideration by the Attorney-General, and the letter by Brisbane City Council will be added to the body of material being assessed to inform her decision.”

The Rail Tram and Bus Union plans to rally today at Cr Adams’ ward office in Mt Gravatt to demand the council provide more ­security guards and full ­encapsulation protection barriers for drivers.

RTBU Queensland secretary Tom Brown supported the deputy mayor’s call for ­increased sentencing and added that the laws were “clearly not working”.

Assaults on Brisbane bus drivers have risen more than 40 per cent. Picture: Josh Woning/AAP

“The magistrates aren’t applying the law as it stands, offenders basically get off, there’s even often no conviction recorded,” he said.

“It’s heartbreaking for the drivers, it’s heartbreaking for police.”

Labor public transport spokesman Jared Cassidy said increased sentencing was not the solution to the “epidemic” of abuse against bus drivers.

“Someone who is high on ice is not going to stop and consider the sentencing implications of what they’re about to do,” he said.

He said the council needed to supply more security guards and full encapsulation safety barriers and the State Government needed to provide more Senior Network Officers.

Brisbane City Council has been calling for more Senior Network Officers for more than two years.