Editorial: ‘Not a time for politics’ as policies fail community again

EDITOR’S VIEW: As the Youth Justice Minister says the stabbing death of a Moreton Bay mother is not a day for politics, the community remains hostage to juvenile offenders.

On Tuesday morning, Queenslanders woke up to news of another tragedy that has sent shockwaves through our community and torn a family to shreds.

The brutal stabbing death of Emma Lovell, along with the serious injuries inflicted on her husband Lee, is a senseless crime on a family who should have been safe in their own home.

The level of violence is shocking.

Much like the revolving door of children’s courts, this is an issue that The Courier-Mail has written extensively on, and yet here we are three days after Christmas, and a family will now have to navigate the rest of their life without their mother and wife.

Questions will be rightly asked about what the government is doing and why their policies aren’t working in the days to come, but Tuesday should have been about this unspeakable tragedy.

That is, until Minister for Children and Youth Justice Leanne Linard showed up at a police press conference in what seemed like a cheap political stunt and proceeded to say it wasn’t a day for politics.

It is telling that when Ms Linard was pushed on government policy, she once again said it wasn’t a day for politics, before throwing a barb at the Opposition’s policy on breach of bail – an Opposition that has not been in power for nine years.

She said: “The community has a right to expect to be safe and as a government we know that that is one of the most important jobs that we have.

“What we know is that young people need to be held to account and we introduced significant changes, including the presumption of bail.”

Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard

Ms Linard then threw the courts under the bus, in a move that seems par for the course of this government that will take no accountability for a growing list of issues that plague a large number of its departments.

So much for it not being about politics. But she is right, the community expects to be safe in their own home and that some grub won’t break in and stab them to death in front of their young children.

It is beyond the pale that we continue to have this discussion about the juvenile justice system in this state and not one single person has been held to account for the horrendous track record of youth crime.

Reports are commissioned, task forces are set up, police and politicians stand in front of media and promise action and yet here we are, a mother of two, a loving wife and from all accounts a tremendous human being, dead. The victim of the very thing we are told over and over again the state government is taking action on.

Superintendent John Hallam made the astute point that it wasn’t completely up to the police to solve this issue, they can only snap the handcuffs on the same criminal kids so many times.

“We can’t arrest our way out of this,” he said.

And much like the rest of Queensland, who are fed up with the state of youth crime, Supt Hallam said: “I still struggle to understand why these types of violent crimes occur and it’s occurred again.”

The state is still struggling to understand when there will be meaningful action taken on juvenile justice and when someone from the Palaszczuk government will be accountable for the youth crime plaguing Queensland.

DON’T IGNORE COVID RISKS

It would be fair to say that after three years of lockdowns, restrictions and illness, most people are fed up with Covid. But for the sake of the most vulnerable in our community we should not totally forget it.

Department of Health data released yesterday reveals 100 people in aged care died from Covid throughout Australia in the week leading up to Christmas.

The shocking statistic has sparked calls for the federal government to do more to increase booster vaccination take-up. Fourth-dose booster vaccination rates in residential aged care are at 83 per cent.

While it is right that the majority of Australians are getting on with their lives, it is vital the nation does not ignore the risks Covid still poses to older Australians.

Originally published as Editorial: ‘Not a time for politics’ as policies fail community again