Vigilante’s ‘youth curfew’ note met with backlash says Whitsundays MP

The author of an ominous poster heralding an “enforced” youth curfew at Mackay has been found as one MP vows her city won’t join vigilantes and another warns it’s a sign of a society living in fear.

Mackay's local MPs have responded to a notice which warned of a youth curfew.

Mackay residents have so far resisted to getting on-board Rockhampton’s Torin-fronted vigilante train after a notice threatening a youth curfew failed to spark a similar uprising.

It comes after an anonymous notice was put up in Mackay’s Northern Beaches advising a group would be “enforc(ing) curfew for all youths” from 10pm Monday and those who breached it would be “disciplined”.

The notice also urged “fathers ready to stand up for your community” to get involved.

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm, herself a Northern Beaches resident, said the poster was quickly pulled down with police officers finding the culprit.

“The person who put it up was very frustrated,” the LNP member said.

“He was a victim of a car theft.”

An anonymous announcement has gone up in Mackay’s Northern Beaches area warning of an approaching vigilante-backed curfew for youths. Picture: Facebook

Ms Camm said the person who made the “kneejerk” notice was feeling “pretty ordinary” after receiving “backlash”, and she was confident no vigilantism would take place after dark.

“I’m very proud of the community that said, ‘No, this is not something we would accept’,” she said.

She added the Mackay region had some of Queensland’s lowest youth crime rates, far below what was experienced in other northern cities like Cairns and Townsville.

There has been 219 unlawful use of motor vehicle offences in Mackay so far this year compared to 419 in Capricornia, 557 in Townsville and 475 in the Far North.

For unlawful entry offences in 2023 to date, Mackay has recorded 529, Capricornia 1140, and Far North 1871.

The Rockhampton community took matters into their own hands against crime on, led by former One Nation candidate and local gym owner Torin O'Brien.

Ms Camm said Mackay police were collaborating with Neighbourhood Watch and the Crime Prevention Unit to educate how to better protect property with many residents complacent with leaving their cars and homes unlocked, making them open slather for “opportunistic” thieves.

However, Mirani’s One Nation MP Stephen Andrew, who also lives in the Mackay region, said the poster was a symptom of a society breaking down and fed up with living in fear while pleading with police and parliament to fix things.

“The standards you walk past is the standard you accept and society gets to a point where they’re going, ‘no more’,” Mr Andrew said.

He said he had witnessed people in their 20s being put in charge of youth in residential homes, labelling them as “kids themselves”, and said it was normal for children who “don’t care” to be on the streets at night.

Mr Andrew said he also knew of “nefarious” and “coward” adults who coerced Mackay youths to steal on their behalf in operations akin to a “crime syndicate” where bad deeds were rewarded with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.

“It’s a form of child abuse,” he said.

Mr Andrew acknowledged the situation was “very complex” and said some of the angst could stem from youth hating the consequences of downwards financial pressure on their families.

He suggested tactics like tackling “idle minds” and giving youth purpose, banning access to technology when it was found to facilitate crime and infamy, an independent review into what happens in residential homes, and uniting non-profit organisations.

Regarding Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to install a new Youth Justice Minister, Mr Andrew said “you can shuffle it all around … (but) everything’s spiralling out of control.”

Originally published as Vigilante’s ‘youth curfew’ note met with backlash says Whitsundays MP