Newsroom

February 18, 2022

Katter’s Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter MP has written to Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan, appealing for his urgent assistance to demand the Federal Communications Minister take action over a social media-inspired youth crime wave that is spreading across Northern Australia.

Mr Katter has also asked the Minister to direct the Queensland Police Service to investigate the trend, which is understood to be centred on the social media platform ‘Tik Tok’ and involves kid criminals partaking in crime-related ‘challenges’, which are then posted to social media.

It’s understood the ‘challenges’ – which include committing vandalism, auto-theft and break-and-enter –  are worth points, and pit community against community.

It is already well-documented as occurring in northern Western Australia, where the social media-inspired crime wave has reportedly hospitalised at least four police officers in recent months.[1]

Mr Katter said he believed the Tik Tok crime trend was playing out in the Northern Territory, and had made its way to Queensland where – in Mount Isa – it was exacerbating the already acute youth crime crisis.

“The commodification of crime on social media, which clearly means a lot to young people these days, is the last thing Queensland needs after years of relentless suffering under the youth crime crisis and the failing Youth Justice system,” he said.

“The impact this situation is having on lives of locals is disgraceful – we have had business owners targeted time and time again, workers on shift at the hospital clock off to find their vehicles vandalised and residents who are afraid to sleep at night.[2]

“Not to mention the impact on the police, who time and time again have to respond to these lawless children just to have their efforts rendered futile thanks to the revolving door of Youth Justice.

“What deterrent is there for these kids not to commit crime? They get to have their fun on Tik Tok and then the worst thing that happens to them is a day in court and maybe a few weeks a Cleveland Detention Centre, if that.

“Only the KAP seems to be capable of providing solutions needed in Queensland to address youth crime, which is long-term and mandatory Relocation Sentencing at a remote facility that gets the offenders out of the communities they have wrought havoc in and provides them an environment void of criminogenic influences and temptations.”

Mr Katter said visitors to Mount Isa, including a mobile health business that had been passing through, had experienced the worst the city had to offer.

“I have cameras on my mobile van – (the kids) waved at the cameras, gave the finger and then threw rocks at my van,” the businessowner, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.

“We had a technician who was staying in a cabin at the local caravan park and he stepped out for a moment and was robbed.

“He’s waking up to every noise throughout the night, he’s so worried they’ll come back.”

“Our business travels to a lot of remote and rural communities and have been coming to Mount Isa for years, but we have never experienced anything like the crime this time.”

“We won’t be coming back - these villains need to be held accountable; they’re not just robbing the rich, they’re also robbing the poor.”

“No one is safe”.

On Monday The Australian newspaper revealed that WA Police Minister Paul Papalia had written to Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, calling for the Government to use its powers and force social media companies to take down content that was feeding competition between Kimberley and Pilbara gangs.

Mr Katter said that the issue had now transcended beyond state borders, and said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Tik Tok trend was associated with recent and horrifying examples of youth crime on the coast including in Townsville and Cairns. 

[1] https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/wa-police-to-get-tough-on-tiktok-kid-crime/news-story/6dba5b6cf881641b1a8a369a33db9fe0

[2] https://www.northweststar.com.au/story/7616561/youth-charged-with-mount-isa-hospital-carpark-car-vandalism/