Justice committee visits Townsville to consult on Making Queensland Safer Laws

Townsville residents will be the only voices outside Brisbane that will be able to have their say, in person, at public hearings about the LNP government’s tough new youth crime laws this week.

A Justice, Integrity and Community Safety committee will be holding a hearing in Townsville to consult the community on Making Queensland Safer Laws. Committee member Natalie Marr said it would be more effective than previous hearings in the past, which includes the bipartisan Youth Justice Reform Committee (pictured) held in February. Picture: Evan Morgan

Townsville residents will be the only voices outside Brisbane that will be able to have their say, in person, during public hearings about the LNP government’s tough new youth crime laws this week.

The Townsville hearing, scheduled for Tuesday at Rydges from 12.15pm to 3pm, will be led by the six-member Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee, including Thuringowa MP Natalie Marr.

It is the only hearing outside Brisbane and a vital step in the newly-elected government’s plan to implement it’s Making Queensland Safer laws by Christmas.

Key aspects of the new laws include allowing juveniles to face longer sentences under the “adult crime, adult time” principle, giving judges the ability to consider youth criminal records when sentencing adults, and enabling the transfer of 18-year-olds from youth detention to adult prisons.

Victims and their families will also have greater access to children’s court proceedings, while the media will be allowed to report on sentencing outcomes.

Newly sworn-in Thuringowa MP Natalie Marr will sit on a committee which will allow her to oversee new anti-crime measures the LNP Government is determined to rollout by Christmas. Picture: Scott Radford-Chisholm

The committee is looking for bother in-person and online submissions about the community’s views about the different parts of the legislation and how it might affect it before submissions close at midday on Tuesday.

It would then have three days to compile the submissions and to report back to the government on Friday, December 6.

Ms Marr said she was honoured to be part of the committee and that it was important that it was able to listen and speak to the communities that would benefit from these new laws.

She said this would be more effective than a bipartisan committee which had visited Townsville early in the year investigating youth crime.

Townsville MPs Janelle Poole, Natalie Marr, Adam Bailie and the Minister for Youth Justice Laura Gerber recently spoke to media in Townsville about the government’s plan to tackle youth crime. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Her Labor predecessor, Aaron Harper, had been part of that committee visiting Townsville in February, where their then-undeclared Katters Australian Party election rival, Reuben Richardson, spoke on the crime issue.

Mr Richardson said at that hearing that youth criminals saw no consequences in their activities, and were “living out the game Grand Theft Auto.”

“They’re chasing police, throwing rocks at police, ramming.

“I don’t understand how we got to that point.”

The new MPs were sworn in at a ceremony at parliament on Tuesday, and on Thursday held their first session of parliament where the government introduced the laws.

Shortly after being sworn in Ms Marr acknowledged another sharp spike of crime that happened last weekend, urging the community to give the government “time and the patience” to deliver what it promised.

“We know it will change things, not overnight, but it will give the community the confidence that we are going to continue to make sure that crime’s our priority.

“And it’s definitely mine.”

She said cabinet ministers were also speaking to judges and to police officers and she believed the support was there to make the legislative changes.

Originally published as Justice committee visits Townsville to consult on Making Queensland Safer Laws