Juvenile crime Cairns: State leaders hit out on how to tackle youth offending
The political finger pointing over the Far North’s spiralling juvenile crime has intensified, as the state’s leader responds to the worsening crisis with an emergency deployment.
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THE political finger pointing over the spiralling juvenile crime gripping Cairns has intensified, with the state’s leader promising to send senior ministers to the Far North as part of an emergency response to the worsening crisis.
The tragic death of a teenage boy on Monday morning, after an alleged joyride in a stolen car ended in the vehicle smashing into a tree, will lead to former anti-terror police chief and current Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Scanlon flying to Cairns along with other senior ministers, according to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The move was attacked by deputy opposition leader David Janetzki – who was visiting Cairns on Tuesday – as nothing more than “lip service” in a withering assault on what he says is the Labor government’s complete mishandling of the worsening situation.
Ms Palaszczuk said she acknowledged “there’s an issue in Cairns” and she has been listening intently to Cairns MP Michael Healy.
“Oh look, it’s a tragedy that any young life is lost,” she said.
“But also too, for the life of me I still can’t understand why parents and families can’t provide safe homes for young people.”
She said Ms Scanlon, who heads up the Youth Crime Taskforce, Children and Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard and Police and Corrective Services Minister Mark Ryan were all expected to travel north.
“That should give the community some level of assurance that we are taking this issue seriously,” she said.
It comes as a peaceful “rally against crime” is being organised on Friday, with organisers saying the state government “is not accepting accountability” for the current youth justice system.
Mr Janetzki said after seven years in government Ms Palaszczuk was “simply all at sea” when it comes to managing the youth crime issue “not just in the Far North, but across Queensland.”
He said the screws needed to be turned on breaches of the Bail Act and the monitoring of youth offenders on bail.
“We’ve seen a consistent inconsistency (from Labor),” he said.
“There has been repeated changes and tinkering of the law, new plans … and yet the serious problem remains unsolved.
“It is beyond a farce for the government to send a few ministers up for a fly in, fly out visit and expect to solve the problem.”
Mr Healy scoffed at the criticism, saying the LNP government had been “nothing short of disgraceful” in this area when in power.
“If they think making a couple of changes to the Bail Act is going to stop this crime they are having themselves on,” he said.
“When they were in they cut funding to police, they cut funding to social services which were vital, and they cut funding to the children’s courts.
“He (Janetzki) turns up here and talks about a couple of little twitches and trinkets here to the legislation thinking that will provide the solution.”
The rally against crime, organised by Aaron McLeod from the Crime and Justice Action Group, will be held on Friday at 4.30pm.
“We’ve identified that accountability within the government is part of the problem,” Mr McLeod said.
“We just haven’t really received the favourable response we wanted from Mr Healy and his government after two years of campaigning.
“So the Cairns community is united and we want to ensure we get the message right up to the top.”
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Originally published as Juvenile crime Cairns: State leaders hit out on how to tackle youth offending
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