LNP Qld Opposition Leader David Crisafulli unveils two-pronged plan to address Toowoomba youth crime wave

LNP leader David Crisafulli has called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to join him in meeting with the victims of youth crime in Toowoomba, while also unveiling how his party would address the issue.

State Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has pledged a two-pronged approach to fixing youth crime in Toowoomba and across Queensland, calling the current crisis “out of control”.

Mr Crisafulli spoke with several victims of youth offenders in Toowoomba on Thursday and called on Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to do the same to address the concerns held by the community.

The city remains in shock this week after 75-year-old Toowoomba man Robert Brown was allegedly assaulted in broad daylight outside Grand Central Shopping Centre – an incident that has left him fighting for his life.

State Opposition Leader David Crisafulli and Toowoomba North MP Trevor Watts stands outside Grand Central Shopping Centre, the scene of where an elderly man was allegedly assaulted in broad daylight on Monday.

Three teenagers, including 18-year-old Wilsonton man Isaac Zane Cubby, have been charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Ms Palaszczuk was again invited by The Chronicle to come to Toowoomba to meet with victims, with daily inquiries being sent since Wednesday.

The Premier’s office did not respond in time for print publication.

Dashcam footage shows a 75-year-old man who was allegedly assaulted outside Toowoomba's Grand Central Shopping Centre on the ground. Photo: 9 News

The government will unveil its package of youth justice reforms to parliament in a few weeks, but Mr Crisafulli said victims and stakeholders deserved to see it ahead of time to provide feedback.

“There are a couple of other changes that we’re working on and we’re considering ahead of the parliament sitting, and the government has spoken about some of their changes,” he said.

“We’ll point out what we think can work and what can be improved, we hope they’ll listen to that.

“I also believe that all of them would love to see that legislation ahead of the sittings so people can make suggestions.”

Mr Crisafulli said the state needed to embrace both criminal justice and early intervention reforms, arguing it was the only way to deal with the current offenders and prevent the creation of new ones.

The crime scene at Grand Central Toowoomba after a 75-year-old was critically injured during an alleged robbery on February 6, 2023. Picture: Peta McEachern

He said the LNP would develop a “deep policy” that avoided the heavy law and order language of its predecessors and instead prioritise identifying risk factors in young children and strategies to divert them from anti-social behaviour.

“Bail reform is one of the (changes), and ensuring that the way the (Youth Justice) Act is worded focuses more on ensuring that there are consequences for bad behaviour,” he said.

“We don’t have a program where a proper assessment is done on someone when they come in contact with the law for the first time.

“We don’t know about a person’s domestic situation, I don’t think enough is done through Child Safety when we know about kids being in areas where they’re leading astray.

“The department has interaction with many of these kids, so how can we use that as a vehicle to identify kids early on, before it gets to the stage when they’re 17 and carrying knives and beating people up.

“At the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got a here and now problem as well.”

Mr Crisafulli also respected comments made by leading criminology academic Professor Ross Homel, who called for the end of the “political death spiral” that led to the constant toughening up of youth justice laws out of convenience and not to achieve good outcomes.

“I’d point to the way I’ve used my language, I don’t try to incite anger, that’s not my style,” he said in response to the comments.

“Many of the changes being suggested (by stakeholders) for the early intervention are good and they might not grab the headlines but they’re bloody important and the government should be listening to those.

“We’ve got to stop teenagers carrying knives and machetes – that has to be stopped now.

“On the other end, how can we change a generational culture where they have looked up and seen there are no consequences for bad behaviour, where we haven’t done enough to intervene early and turn that life around?

“This is going to be a long burn, but there are also some things that need to happen now to deliver the community the safety that they want.”