Senator Malcolm Roberts, Torin O’Brien host Rockhampton crime forum

A crowd of fed-up Rockhampton residents has gathered to hear from controversial One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts and “community patrol” ringleader Torin O’Brien about their next plans.

Queensland One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts in Rockhampton.

A much smaller crowd than was seen at a recent similar event turned out on Saturday in Rockhampton to vent frustrations and fears over the youth crime wave gripping the region.

One Nation Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts spoke at the event, flying into the city for the day, alongside Rockhampton gym owner and “anti-crime” movement ringleader Torin O‘Brien.

The event came off the back of a rally held in Rockhampton only weeks before which saw between 100 to 150 people involved, gathering in a public meeting before taking part in a “community patrol” at the homes of alleged offenders.

A more subdued crowd, made up of about 50 people, mostly seniors, attended the Rocky Sports Club on Saturday for the crime forum promoted by One Nation.

Mr Roberts launched into a 25-minute-long speech to the crowd, firstly disclaiming he was a Federal Senator and had no responsibility or jurisdiction on state policy.

He said the point was to bring political pressure to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, pointing to signs decorated around the room, quoted her as saying “no-one is going to stop youth crime”.

“You can stop youth crime, other countries have done it, Torin has done it himself,” he told the crowd.

Queensland One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts in Rockhampton.

He then referred to a series of signs of graphs and data that had been printed out on crime rates and categories in Queensland.

He spoke with members sitting in the crowds and others in the back became agitated as he veered away from the topic of crime, and went into a spiel about the Greens and a series of tweets Gladstone-based Queensland senator Penny Allman-Payne had written and since deleted about Torin.

“Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is setting up “local action groups” across Queensland as the party champions a former candidate and member of a white nationalist group who led a Rockhampton vigilante mob,” she had written in one Tweet.

Mr Roberts then went to a long path of describing The Greens as racist, among other things and asking audience members for their opinions.

Speaking to the media, Mr Roberts said he would like to see more fact and data-based laws.

“If someone breaks the law, they need to be dealt with, punished, rather than just let off the hook,” he said.

“The police must get so demoralised, catching people and letting them go.

“The judges are not at fault, the state have got their hands tied.”

One Nation Member for Mirani Stephen Andrew was also in attendance at the event and spoke for 10 minutes about the issue, referencing conversations he has had with constituents who live rurally and police are too far away.

Torin O’Brien has ridden to social media fame in the last few weeks after his Facebook post asking for names of offenders in CCTV went viral.

He then organised a community rally at a Rockhampton park and then led a convoy of vehicles across town and more than 100 people gathered on the front yards and streets of homes that were leaked as residences of “regular offenders”.

Mr O’Brien stood before the crowd and shared how he is a “product of the West Melbourne housing commission”.

“The only guarantee I had was for the last week of each fortnightly pay, we would have no food and be hungry,” he said.

“Myself and the other housing commission kids learnt how to feed themselves, often by thieving from Bi-Lo or something like that.

“By the time I was 15, I had been stabbed, shot at, had numerous used needles held to my throat in robberies and been involved in a million crimes myself, mainly to feed myself.

Malcolm Roberts speaking to the crowd at Rocky Sports Club at the One Nation event on May 27.

“I was a 15-year-old drug addicted, steed kid and a car thief.”

Accused of being an “ultra privileged white guy”, he says he is far from it.

“The community groups that keep saying it’s not these kid’s faults, they’ve had a hard life,” he said.

“I probably had a harder life than any of them and I’m just fine and I got out of it, no government support, no parents support.

“Back then, it was embarrassing, we didn’t want to be victims of our situations.

“These kids today embrace being victims of a bad situation.

“I’m calling that rubbish.

“Your age, your race, your gender, your background, it means nothing to me, if you commit a serious crime, then you need serious consequences.”