Opposition leader David Crisafulli slams ‘abject failure’ of youth justice laws

The neighbour who rushed to the aide of the Kefu family during a terrifying home invasion has signed the petition demanding changes to Queensland’s youth justice system.

The heroic neighbour who rushed to the aide of the Kefu family during a violent home invasion has become one of more than 40,000 Queenslanders to sign a parliamentary petition to fix the youth justice system.

Ben Cannon wrestled a knife-wielding teen to the ground inside the home of Toutai and Rachel Kefu, who were both stabbed during the horrifying invasion in September last year.

Mr Cannon joined Opposition leader David Crisafulli today to sign the petition, which was launched on Friday last week in response to the six-year jail term given to the teenager who killed Kate Leadbetter, Matthew Field and their unborn son.

Matthew’s parents were the first to sign the petition.

“My family and my neighbours were a direct result of an ineffective system to retain these juveniles that commit these crimes,” Mr Cannon said.

“In that instance our lives changed forever and the lives of these people who continue to cause these crimes go on seemingly unchanged.”

Ben Cannon with Opposition leader David Crisafulli signing the youth crime laws petition outside Parliament House. Picture: Samantha Scott

“Since the incident, which is approaching its anniversary for us, there wouldn’t be a week or day go by when I don’t meet a Queenslander or somebody in my community that has been in some way changed or effected by crime in their home.

“So what I don’t understand is why our government and our leaders don’t feel the same emotions and anguish that the community does.”

Mr Cannon said he was unfortunate enough to meet someone who was “very good at crime” and “very confident with a weapon”.

“That’s not someone who has done it once – that’s someone who has done it again and again

To end up in my house – something is terribly wrong at home – I feel the system is letting these people down,” he said.

“We apparently have a labour shortage and we are letting these people roam the streets on taxpayer’s money.”

Mr Crisafulli said the focus of any good system was “consequences for actions”.

“One of the glaring holes in our youth justice act is there are no consequences for actions – and while you have a system where breach of bail isn’t an offence you will continue to see the same crimes committed in the same suburbs, the only thing that changes is the families whose lives are ripped apart,” he said.

“If you don’t have a system where breach of bail can be an offence you are effectively saying that you have to wait for the next offence before there can be consequences for actions,” he said.

Toutai Kefu with his neighbour Ben Cannon. Picture: Liam Kidston

Mr Crisafulli said although he doesn’t think breach alone will be the “panacea to fix youth crime” it is a “good start”.

“When you have in a 12 month period, 92 offenders in Queensland who have committed 30 or more individual offences – you know the system isn’t working,” he said.

“Until you have breach of bail as an offence, as a starting point, you are effectively signalling to a generation youth criminals that they are free to go and do as they please and Queenslanders aren’t comfortable with that.”

Mr Crisafulli said at the moment “police have their hands tied around their backs”.

“It’s not until another offence is committed that there can be any form of accountability,” he said.

“When the state government announced their changes 12 months ago – we said at the time we would back them but we also said unless there were consequences for actions things wouldn’t turn around – the flagship of that was the GPS bracelets – they have been an abject failure.”

Mr Crisafulli said this “poorly drafted legislation” has resulted in just three offenders being issued a GPS bracelet.

“If a condition of bail is that a young offender has to wear a GPS bracelet, I don’t believe the young offender should have the right to tell a magistrate that they don’t want to wear one,” he said.

“This isn’t about fashion advice this is about going into a community on bail and that is a privilege – if that is a condition that has been set, it should be enforced.”

You can sign the petition here.