Minns government has backflipped on a bush crime probe

Regional youth crime in NSW will be examined in a landmark inquiry after the Minns government greenlit a probe on the issue.

Regional youth crime in NSW will be examined in a landmark inquiry after the Minns government greenlit a probe on the issue.

A parliamentary committee will look at a whole of government response including police staffing levels in the bush, after voting in favour of establishing the inquiry on Wednesday afternoon.

It comes after The Daily Telegraph’s investigation into crime in Dubbo and Moree which revealed children as young as 10 were invading homes to steal car keys across regional NSW and were given bail multiple times because they “don’t know right from wrong”.

The Minns government had previously refused calls to launch an inquiry despite announcing a $26.2 million program targeting NSW youth crime, including a youth crime program to be trialled in Moree and legislation to slap youths who “post and boast” about their exploits online with up to two years in jail.

And Police minister Yasmine Catley said the government would not support such an inquiry as late as Tuesday because she believed an inquiry would focus too heavily on policing.

Gunnedah locals are feeling “frightened” after a recent spree of stolen and damaged cars, home invasions and car fires around the country town. Picture: Facebook FRNSW Gunnedah.

“We do not need politicians in this building telling us that there is a problem in regional NSW when it comes to youth crime,” she said in parliament this week.

Yet on Wednesday, Ms Catley welcomed the inquiry, saying it will get to the bottom of the complex problems and seek solutions to tackle the root causes of youth crime.

Police in Moree doing search warrants and checking bail conditions.

“We’ve said all along we would not support the National Party’s politicised inquiry that sought to blame police for deeply entrenched social problems that lead to crime in regional communities,” she said.

“The best thing we can do is prevent crime from happening in the first place – that’s what the government is focused on, and that is what this inquiry will be looking into.”

Police Minister Yasmin Catley has said the government would not support an inquiry. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Five MPs – three from Labor, one Independent and one National MP- will head up the new inquiry after the Committee on Law and Society agreed to the terms of reference on Thursday afternoon.

A Committee inquiry is not as well resourced and does not have as wide ranging powers as a parliamentary inquiry.

Moree local Sascha Estens has a pig dog and security cameras to protect home.

The Committee will look at the causes of youth crime across regional NSW and how a whole of government response can reduce the drivers and root causes of youth crime, as well as police staffing levels, the role of police in mental health assistance and youth welfare.

It will also look at the services currently available for youth and families to help stop children becoming involved in crime and how they can be better tailored to individual communities.

All NSW Nationals have signed a letter imploring Premier Chris Minns to have an regional crime inquiry.

However, regional communities are unlikely to see the results of the inquiry for another two years with the inquiry to report its findings in February 2025.

The five MPs will go to communities hardest hit by crime, talking to stakeholders and victims.

The formation of the committee inquiry signals a massive backflip for the Minns government who has refused calls to hold an inquiry for six months.

Opposition Police spokesman Paul Toole who is one of the five MPs in the youth crime committee said the inquiry was a step in the right direction but that the government had wasted six months arguing that they did not want an inquiry only to backflip.

“It’s not going to give any comfort to those people who have suffered at the hands of youth crime in the last six months, when an inquiry could already have been underway,’ he said.

“The hypocrisy of the police minister to say an inquiry would be just a talkfest and a waste of time show’s she’d be a great gymnast because she does more backflips than anyone else I know.”

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