Newsroom

January 7, 2025

A series of shocking ram raids earlier this week has once again thrust Townsville’s youth crime crisis into the spotlight. A stolen vehicle was used to target multiple businesses across the region, leaving significant damage and a community growing weary of political promises.

Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said that while recent legislative changes aimed at addressing youth crime have seen arrests rise, the community was yet to feel any real improvement in safety.

“Since the introduction of the ‘adult crime, adult time’ laws in December, we’re told that police have arrested 227 juveniles and charged them with 484 offences. However, even the Police Commissioner acknowledged that youth crime hasn’t decreased,” Mr. Dametto said.

“These kids must be held to account. Arrest numbers alone aren’t enough, even under the failed Labor administration police were good at that.

“The community wants fewer offences being committed, and less criminals released on bail. They want to see incarceration or other methods which act as a strong deterrent. There’s little use arresting kids who are more than happy to holiday at Camp Cleveland.”

Mr. Dametto reiterated KAP’s call for the adoption of Relocation Sentencing in full, a policy the party believes would deliver both immediate and long-term benefits.

“Relocation Sentencing or bush sentencing would act as a circuit breaker by removing offenders from their offending environment and placing them in remote, structured facilities where they can learn discipline, life skills, and responsibility,” he said.

“It’s not about sending them somewhere they want to go. It’s about breaking the cycle of crime by creating a place young offenders dread the thought of going and giving those who decide to continue to break the law a chance to rehabilitate and change their ways through hard work and discipline.

“Traditional detention centres and watch houses are regularly at, or over, capacity. The government needs to be upfront about how they plan to manage the growing number of offenders being arrested under these laws. Without a solid plan, we risk seeing the system buckle under the strain and no drop in youth crime rates.

“I’m calling on the LNP Crisafulli Government to act quickly if they are going to address these problems. They made big, bold promises and the community is desperate for the reprieve they deserve.”

Photo: Hinchinbrook MP and Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader, Nick Dametto.