Opposition Leader coy on LNP plans for key youth detention measure

Queensland’s Opposition Leader has refused to say whether his LNP party would seek to again overturn the widely accepted principle that detention should be a last resort for young people accused or guilty of crimes.

But David Crisafulli said on Monday he refused to join the “chorus of people saying that every young person who made a mistake should have rocks thrown at them” amid political debate sparked by several high-profile deaths.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli repeated a line of attack that the Palaszczuk government has “watered down” youth justice laws.Credit: Fairfax Media

Cracks have emerged in the toughening public positions of the LNP and the Labor government, as legal figures and experts urge parliament to champion a smarter and bipartisan approach for community safety as well as young people’s chances of rehabilitation.

After Treasurer Cameron Dick’s swipe at Deputy Premier and Labor factional rival Steven Miles over his outburst on “rogue courts”, cabinet colleague Leeanne Enoch appeared to side with Miles on Monday by saying he was reflecting community expectations that courts “do their job”.

One of the 13 young people released on bail by a Townsville magistrate last week, in what was described as a “media stunt” by Miles, has since been found in breach of conditions and returned to custody for reconsideration of their bail.

Addressing reporters later on Monday, Crisafulli described calls at the weekend by his predecessor Deb Frecklington for temporary accommodation and a 72-hour limit on watch house stays for young offenders “spot on”.

However, Crisafulli also repeated a line of attack his party has begun using: that the government led by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk “watered down” youth justice laws after it came to power in 2015 by reinstating the principle of detention as a last resort.

The principle, recognised in all other Australian states under part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child the country has signed, was abolished by the Campbell Newman-led LNP government in 2014.

It was one of several measures enacted under Newman widely criticised by experts and sparking “grave concern” from then-Childrens Court president Michael Shanahan.

That government also introduced a breach-of-bail offence for young offenders – later removed by Labor and being pushed for again by the LNP.

Crisafulli refused to be drawn on whether the LNP would seek to overturn the sentencing principle again, either through amendments to the government’s latest set of “tough” measures set to be fast-tracked through parliament next week or as part of a broader 2024 election platform.

Youth Advocacy Centre chief executive Katherine Hayes said any such move would likely increase the number of young people who were caught up in the youth justice system.

Peak Care executive director Lindsay Wegener, who has met with Crisafulli since the “smarter not tougher” open letter from more than 50 expert groups and individuals, said looking for fixes in legal tweaks missed the point.

“We are absolutely on the side of the community ... no one should be the victim of crime, but we just want solutions that work,” Wegener said.

“What we should be doing is looking at solutions outside of the criminal justice system.”

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