Moree Shire Mayor Mark Johnson says ‘petty crime’ turning into ‘violent crime’ in northern NSW town

Having a youth crime problem is something most country areas would have too much pride to admit to, but it was by embracing the issue that Moree got help.

Moree Plains Shire Council mayor Mark Johnson and deputy mayor Susannah Pearse, who provided a “wishlist” to Premier Chris Minns for the northern NSW town. Picture: David Swift

Having a youth crime problem is something most country areas would have too much pride to admit to, but it was by embracing the issue that Moree got help.

When locals in the farming town in the state’s far north realised things were out of control they asked Premier Chris Minns for help and he answered the call, arriving in February and sitting down with anyone he could to find out what was needed as well as being provided a “wishlist” by the local council.

Three weeks later the premier announced tougher youth bail laws and a new $8.75 million bail accommodation centre just for Moree, as part of a 12-month trial in the town the state government hopes will provide a blueprint for solving the youth crime crisis across regional areas.

Moree Plains Shire Council Mayor Mark Johnson said the call for help came after noticing “petty crime” changing to “violent crime”, and a number of locals being brutally attacked.

“That has really worried us a lot and has made us, you know, focus on there’s something absolutely going wrong here,” Mr Johnson said.

“As a community, we were owning the problem, we weren’t ashamed of it and we saw it as a wonderful opportunity.

“Chris Minns sat in that chair over there and listened and took notes, and said: ‘We will come back to you with a comprehensive plan’.

“And, you know, we deal a lot with politicians and that normally takes months and months and months, and here we are just three weeks later.”

The northern NSW town of Moree is facing a youth crime problem with the region’s leaders calling for support.

Moree became a focus for Premier Minns and the state government because statistics showed it was far above the state average for youth crime.

For example, between 2022 and 2023 break and enter offences in Moree sat 840 per cent higher than the state average, while motor vehicle theft was 680 per cent higher.

But last week’s announcement of the legislative trial in Moree made them the envy of other regional towns also battling with youth crime.

Moree Shire mayor Mark Johnson said the agencies employed to help the region’s youths “are not working”. Picture: David Swift

It is understandable, considering the town already receives an estimated $100 million in funding for the 54 agencies meant to help youths in areas such as mental health and education, but which Mayor Johnson says simply “are not working”.

“You know... you’ve seen in the main street, all those different businesses in that space [but] we’re just getting the same result,” he said.

“We’re not saying they’re not working hard, we’re not saying that they they’re not having some achievements, but it’s not working enough to correct things.

“Because underpinning all of this is the social issue and it’s trying to turn those young children away from a life in crime and, making life itself a positive deterrent, so they wake up each day and think, okay, you know, I’m going to school and I’m going to play footy and I’m going to get a job and all these sorts of things.”

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