Qld premier David Crisafulli questioned in Toowoomba over leaving rape out of initial Adult Crime, Adult Time laws

Premier David Crisafulli has again been unable to explain why rape was left out of his government’s initial tranche of Adult Crime, Adult Time reforms that passed last year.

Premier David Crisafulli says much-needed changes to rape laws involving youth offenders will be considered by a new expert panel this year, but still has not explained why they weren’t included in the initial tranche of Adult Time, Adult Crime laws.

Mr Crisafulli was grilled at Friday’s Toowoomba press conference on his government’s decision to leave rape laws out of its pre-election commitment to toughening youth crime legislation.

The oversight means a youth found guilty of rape or aggravated sexual assault could serve less time than a serial car thief.

It comes after The Chronicle uncovered the omission of rape from the laws in December and shocking Queensland data, including that less than half of juvenile offenders found guilty of rape actually received jail sentences.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli with (from left) Hot Property director Jacob Carlile, Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts and Treasurer David Janetzki after a press conference in Toowoomba, Friday, January 24, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The average time term for juvenile rapists was 2.6 years, whereas for adults it was a 6.5 year jail term.

Mr Crisafulli, who made youth crime reforms a key pillar of his successful election campaign in October, didn’t disagree with a survey of more than 500 Queensland women that reached an overwhelming consensus for the laws to be changed.

But he again refused to guarantee they would be among the next tranche of changes, deferring that decision on an upcoming expert legal panel that is currently in the recruitment phase.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli during a press conference in Toowoomba, Friday, January 24, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“They (the respondents to the survey) are right, and I can assure you that is something that that expert panel will be absolutely looking at,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“I want those women and all Queenslanders to know that there won’t be just one future wave.

“These changes are something that we will continue to do until this state has the best youth crime laws in the country — not the second-best, the best.”

The insufficient rape laws are not the only loopholes discovered since the election, after a 13-year-old was charged with attempted murder following a stabbing incident at a shopping centre in Yamanto last week.

The teenager will not be charged as an adult for the alleged offence, something the Premier indicated would change.

Mr Crisafulli bristled when asked whether the LNP’s choice of 10 offences to be reformed was arbitrary, instead reaffirming the mandate he believed Queenslanders had given him.

“I don’t understand the question, because the expert panel will consider all the future changes that aren’t part of that first tranche,” he said tersely.

“There was a thing called an election campaign and we listened, we consulted, we put those changes forward and Queenslanders voted on it.

“I did exactly the changes that we said to Queenslanders and then I promised we’d put this body in place and they’d deal with future changes.

“The youth crime laws in Queensland are broken and they were broken a decade ago.”