Father of crash victim Nick Cameron angry at lack of punishment

The father of one of two boys killed in a rollover on a rural property does not know what, if any, punishment has been given to the driver.

The grief-stricken father of a 10-year-old boy who was killed in a Queensland car rollover says he does not know what – if any – punishment has been given to the teenager who was behind the wheel.

Roma grazier Nick Cameron discovered the body of his son Jack following a four-wheel-drive rollover on his property that also claimed the life of Brisbane’s Church of England Grammar student Archie Gouldson in May last year.

Jack – a young cattleman, fierce Broncos fan and rugby league player – was a passenger in the Toyota LandCruiser with three 16-year-old boys when it rolled on a straight dirt road.

Mr Cameron said that police initially told him the 16-year-old driver would be charged with two counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death.

But a letter received on June 22 – 14 months after the crash – confirmed the teenager, who is now 18, had been referred to the restorative justice process after pleading guilty to driving without due care and attention causing death.

“We were so disappointed,” Mr Cameron said.

“It just feels like it’s been such a waste of life.

“Someone who enjoyed life so much was taken in the blink of an eye and nothing seems to have been done about it.”

Jack Cameron

Archie Gouldson

Under the Youth Justice Act, juvenile offenders can be referred to a restorative justice conference by the police or a court if a child admits guilt.

More than 2500 restorative justice referrals were made between January and October this year – almost 70 per cent made by the Children’s Court.

Through a restorative justice conference, victims are given the chance to come face-to-face with young offenders so they can explain the impact of their crime and reach an “agreement” on how the child can repair the harm they have caused.

The juveniles are usually asked to write an apology, pay financial restitution, or take part in volunteer work or educational programs.

In Mr Cameron’s case, he said two youth justice workers travelled to his property, southwest of Roma, in September.

“We just went through that day, drove them to where we first had the phone call from Triple-0 and went to the scene of the incident,” he said.

“The sad thing is that I have to drive past the scene of the incident two or three times a day, but for (my wife) Sarah it was really a struggle.”

Mr Cameron claims that after the meeting with the workers, they did not tell him what punishment the teen received or if his provisional licence was suspended.

Jack Cameron with father Nick

He said he has had no correspondence with Youth Justice since the visit to his farm and feels like the process has left his family retraumatised.

“That’s what really hurts – the system looks after the criminal instead of the victims,” he said.

A Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs spokesman said victims were told of the agreement if they wished to be kept informed.

“If a young person is referred to a restorative justice conference, then the victim is notified and invited to participate,” he said.

“If the victim declines to participate, but wishes to be kept informed, we advise them of the agreement reached at the conference.”

The department said feedback was “always” sought after conferences and in the past financial year 94 per cent of victims who participated believed “reparation of harm was achieved”.

“A 2018 evaluation of the program also found … 77 per cent of young people who completed a conference did not reoffend, or the magnitude of their reoffending decreased, within six months of their conference,” the spokesman said.

Mr Cameron said while he understood restorative justice was an appropriate pathway for some juvenile offenders, he did not believe such a serious offence should be diverted from the court.

“Two lives have been lost, there needs to be some sort of consequence,” he said.

“It’s never going to bring Jack back, but it helps the healing process a little bit.”

Jack Cameron

Jack Cameron