CLP leader pledges to tackle ‘record levels’ of crime ahead of 2024 election

CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro has pledged to restore law and order to the Top End by implementing strategies to tackle ‘record levels’ of crime.

Public safety will be at the forefront of a future Country Liberal Party government who plan to tackle “record levels” of crime by lowering the criminal age of responsibility from 12 and implementing rehabilitation strategies.

On Monday, CLP leader Lia Finocchiaro said that the “immediate changes can and will be made under a CLP government” during her keynote speech at the Property Council State of the Union lunch.

Ms Finocchiaro said it was “well beyond time to put the rights of people to be safe above the rights of criminals” and pledged to back police with “the powers they need” to restore public order across the Territory.

“We will immediately change the laws to give police the powers they need to deal with public drinking, public drunks and youth offenders as well as implementing compulsory alcohol rehabilitation to break chronic addiction,” she said.

“We will stop these endless second chances with stronger bail meaning less criminals continuously out on our streets,

“Anyone who assaults someone at work will face a minimum mandatory sentence and the criminal age of responsibility will be lowered so that kids and parents are held accountable for their crimes.

She also committed to implementing prison-based rehabilitation programs and post-release services to prevent prisoners from reoffending.

“Importantly we’ll support and ensure that there is a future for people beyond crime,” she said.

“To lower reoffending rates, we will make sure that prisoners are given the skills for life through custodial work programs like sentence to a job and sentence to a skill,

“We need people who break the law to come out of prison job ready.”

CLP Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro. Picture: Annabel Bowles

She said the current crime crisis was deterring visitors and residents alike, particularly international students, contributing to a declining workforce and hospitality sector.

“We will only grow our population and attract and retain critical workforce that we desperately need here in the Territory if we have a safe community,” she said.

“People that might be attracted to our competitive offerings and a home of your own will not entertain and make that giant leap of faith to come here if our city’s remain totally out of control,

“And the impact of crime on staff, businesses and families is huge, you only need to look to our hospitality industry to see the cost of crime and what that is having on our economy.”

During her address, Ms Finocchiaro also promised to establish an approvals fast tracked task force which will reduce all government decision making time frames by 50%.

“Good governments don’t just create new laws, they repeal the bad ones and that’s why the CLP government will have an approvals fast tracked task force,” she said.

“This task force will be established immediately if we win in August and it will be made up of the private sector – within six months I’m expecting a long list of investment hindering, red tape to be presented to me so that I can walk that into parliament and wish it goodbye.”

Originally published as CLP leader pledges to tackle ‘record levels’ of crime ahead of 2024 election