Steven Miles smacks down LNP’s new ‘detention with purpose’ plan

Premier Steven Miles has dismissed the LNP’s “detention with purpose” plan, stating mandatory minimum sentencing and solitary confinement will not have an affect on the state’s youth crime scourge.

Premier Steven Miles is not impressed by the ‘detention with purpose’ plan. Picture David Clark

Mandatory minimum sentencing and solitary confinement will not prevent a single crime, Premier Steven Miles has declared in response to the LNP’s latest youth crime election platform.

The “detention with purpose” plan promises mandatory education, the removal of special privileges unless earned and a minimum isolation period for youth offenders.

Mr Miles said contrary to claims made by Opposition Leader David Crisafulli at today’s LNP campaign launch, education was already mandatory in Queensland detention centres.

“The fact is, education is already mandatory in our detention facilities, and what we’ve been doing over time is increasing access to schooling and increasing access to health care services because so many of the young people entering our detention system are suffering from mental health, alcohol and drug abuse issues,” he said.

“Mandatory sentencing and mandatory solitary confinement will not prevent a single crime.”

The Premier, flanked by three cabinet members, held a press conference out the front of the Pine Rivers community health centre on Sunday.

No new announcements were made, with Mr Miles instead accusing the LNP of hiding plans to cut health services and repeal abortion laws.

“From what I’ve seen from their (LNP) launch so far, they’ve not come clean with Queenslanders about their intention to cut to fund their promises, the 17,000 public servants who would need it to be cut to deliver those $2bn of savings every year, the health workers that would be part of those cuts, or, of course, the abortion services that we know so many of their MPs would prefer to make illegal,” he said.

Steven Miles in Milton on Sunday. Picture: David Clark

But asked what hard evidence of health care workers being cut under an LNP government existed, neither the Premier nor Treasurer Cameron Dick could clarify, with Mr Dick stating it was the only way to achieve an operational balance in the budget.

“If they weren’t going to do that, then they would release their costings,” Mr Miles said.

Mr Dick again called on Mr Crisafulli and LNP Treasury spokesman David Janetzki to release the LNP’s tax scheme and full list of election commitment costs.

“If David Crisafulli says he only has eight and a half-billion dollars in election commitments, my message to him is simple, prove it,” he said.

“Show us your list.”