Questions raised about Child Safety involvement with state ward in the lead up to Robert Brown’s death

The person responsible for Robert Brown’s death has been revealed as subject to a long-term Child Safety guardianship, but despite this order he slipped through the cracks, becoming homeless and abusing ices in the weeks before he killed Mr Brown.

The crime scene after Toowoomba man Robert Brown was pushed and killed while waiting for a taxi at Grand Central Shopping Center in February 2023. Picture: Peta McEachern

The Department of Child Safety’s role in a teen’s life before he killed Toowoomba senior Robert Brown has been criticised by a Supreme Court judge, with details of drug use from the age of nine, a violent household and being forced to scavenge for food in bins.

In a lengthy sentencing decision handed down on Monday – which has been criticised by a broad section of the community for its perceived leniency – after the offender pleaded guilty to manslaughter, Justice Martin Burns outlined the young man’s tragic upbringing.

Raised by a mother who battled drug addiction and an abusive father, the boy turned to drugs at the age of nine, starting with cannabis and progressing to ice.

Photographer Robert Brown died after he was pushed in a robbery at Grand Central Shopping Centre. Picture: Nev Madsen.

In his early teens, he was dealt with for 43 drug and property crime offences, but no offences of violence. He was placed in the care of the Department of Child Safety on twice, with Justice Burns noting that neither was a positive experience.

“The second of which, by your account at least, featured maltreatment with you at times having to resort to scavenging from rubbish bins to feed yourself,” he said.

“In the end, you self-placed back with your mother in the middle of 2020.”

The teen returned to his family home while subject to a Long Term Guardianship that was to be in place until he reached maturity.

He was one of the 2005 Queensland children who were subject to Long Term Guardianship at the time of the offence, about 19 in every 20 orders related to an Indigenous child.

The court was told the teen was diagnosed with a severe speech and language disorder, a suspected intellectual disability, a hearing impairment, anxiety, depression and attachment-based trauma.

The crime scene after Toowoomba man Robert Brown was pushed and killed while waiting for a taxi at Grand Central Shopping Center in February 2023. Picture: Peta McEachern

From the court record it appeared, the teen’s life had stabilised and he was crime-free from 2020 until his abusive, estranged father came back into his life in January 2023 where domestic violence and alcohol abuse resumed.

“As a result you fled the home, being fearful of living in that environment,” Justice Burns said.

“You again turned to drugs and alcohol and temporarily resided with so-called peers in the Toowoomba area.”

The court was told that in the lead-up to Robert Brown’s death, the teen had run away from home, was living with peers, had not slept for four days, and was consuming about 1g of meth and 14g of cannabis each day.

In the company of two other young men, the teen went to Grand Central Shopping Centre in a stolen car and identified Mr Brown as the target.

At about 4.30pm on February 6, the teen approached Mr Brown from behind, pushed him over and stole his backpack.

The crime scene after Toowoomba man Robert Brown was pushed and killed while waiting for a taxi at Grand Central Shopping Center in February 2023. Picture: Peta McEachern

Mr Brown fell to the ground head-first and suffered a critical neck injury. He died in hospital a week later.

The teen was arrested the following day and on May 27, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and robbery with violence.

Justice Burns sentenced him to seven years in jail after taking into account the offender’s hearing, speech and intellectual impairments, the absence of a history of violent offending, his abusive and disadvantaged upbringing, his early plea and his clear sense of remorse.

He signalled out the man’s alleged co-offenders as a comparison, saying their matters were far from finalised, and he co-operated with the authorities from the first moment of his arrest.

Toowoomba South MP David Janetzki said it was concerning the boy was on the streets while he was subject to a Child Safety guardianship. 

“There is a generation of young people who have been failed by a broken Child Safety System,” he said.

“Too many young Queenslanders are living in unsafe situations, leaving them vulnerable to a life of crime.”

When asked about what involvement Child Safety caseworkers had with the boy in the lead up to the killing of Mr Brown, a department spokeswoman said the Child Protection Act prevented her from commenting on individual cases.

“The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is our highest priority,” she said.

“Children who come into contact with child protection often have complex, challenging and high-risk behaviours due to past experiences and mental health issues.

“Our staff work with children, foster and kinship carers and their families to access the right supports for them.

“We expect a high level of care from them and take allegations of neglect very seriously.

“If a matter is raised with us, it is fully investigated, and action is taken to ensure children in that placement are safe.

“When a child self-places their child safety officer works with them to provide appropriate supports.”

Originally published as Questions raised about Child Safety involvement with state ward in the lead up to Robert Brown’s death