Editorial: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to act on youth crime crisis in Toowoomba

OUR SAY: In 2021, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was happy to touchdown in Toowoomba, virtually unannounced, to sing from the rooftops that a new quarantine facility would keep us all safe from Covid. Now she needs to act on public safety again.

Dear Chronicle readers,

Enough Is Enough.

Our community was struck by a completely senseless and utterly deplorable act on Monday afternoon.

Robert William Brown, a gentle 75-year-old man who only brought light into the lives of the people he interacted with, suffered at the hands of a teenager in broad daylight in the centre of our beautiful city.

This could have been you, this could have been your mother or father or any one of us going about our day.

If Robert wasn’t safe, then none of us are safe until we see meaningful changes.

The only way we’re going to get meaningful change towards a future where killings and maimings by juvenile offenders isn’t a daily occurrence in our once peaceful cities and towns is through strong leadership.

Photographer Robert Brown. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Now is the time for a leader who can face our community and be confident in showing us the path forward with a plan that meets community expectations while being expert-led to ensure it leads to real, long-term solutions.

Until we see the Queensland Government make systemic and wide-reaching transformations to their youth justice legislation, as well as allocate the necessary funding and resources into the sectors that are intertwined with juvenile offending, these heartbreaking attacks will continue to plague the Garden City and regional Queensland.

In August 2021, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was happy to touchdown in Toowoomba, virtually unannounced, to sing from the rooftops that our community would become home to a 1000-bed quarantine centre to keep us all safe from Covid.

In February 2023, Ms Palaszczuk refuses to answer our repeated requests and invites to make the hour and a half drive to Toowoomba to announce her youth justice reforms and show a sign of solidarity for the countless victims who have suffered or continue to suffer because of juvenile crime.

It cannot be stressed enough that this campaign, these stories and editorials are not political swipes at the Premier, her government or her ministers or Labor.

These are urgent calls for action for the State’s current leadership to take serious, methodical steps.

The Chronicle has served this community for more than 160 years, and our team is dedicated to ensure this campaign and the call for Ms Palaszczuk to visit our city to discuss youth crime and reforms will not be a flash in the pan.

We will continue to tell the stories of the victims who have been affected by heartless thieves, we will force our representatives to pay attention to the stories of hardworking innocent people whose lives have been left in ruins or taken by criminals.

Premier Palaszczuk, please come to Toowoomba with your ministers, show us in-person that you stand with us and you will create real change.

For the sake of our communities and for the sake of people like Robert Brown.

Robert certainly deserves that much.

Originally published as Editorial: Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to act on youth crime crisis in Toowoomba