Residents living in perpetual state of fear as youth crime crisis grows

3 June 2024

Townsville residents are living in a perpetual state of fear as youth criminals run rampant on the streets endangering the lives of people going about their normal business. Over the weekend, it has been alleged that carloads of youth offenders in stolen vehicles rammed up to three cars belonging to members of the public and in one instance a dual cab ute was flipped injuring the four occupants.

What will it take for the Government to take notice and act against youth crime – that’s the question being asked by Hinchinbrook MP and Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Deputy Leader, Nick Dametto.

“Throughout Queensland we’ve had home invasions, car-jackings and murders and it is an absolute miracle that the four occupants of the vehicle that was rammed on the weekend were not more seriously injured and added to the death toll,” claimed the Hinchinbrook MP.

“The State Labor Government has completely lost control of the situation. At what point did they think creating laws that foster this lawless behaviour by criminals was going to benefit anyone else in society.

“As we quickly approach the state election, Queenslanders have quite clearly indicated they have lost faith in the government, and they are looking to parties with clear direction and policy certainty to put this state back on track.

“KAP has a number of extensive crime policies which include Relocation Sentencing to ‘Send ‘em out bush’, removal of detention as a last resort, mandatory minimum sentencing, adult crime = adult time and Castle Law.

“In recent weeks, Castle Law has gained maximum traction with the public. It should come as no surprise to the Government over 35, 000 people have already signed the Queensland parliamentary petition calling for KAP’s Castle Law bill to be passed by the parliament that would give victims of home invasions the legislative power to protect themselves and their oved ones by any means necessary in their own home.

“The proposals and policies put forward by KAP may seem extreme to some but when a trip to the shops or a car ride back from the city, whether it be night or day, turns into scenes from the apocalyptic film Mad Max, Queenslanders know that something drastic must be done to correct what is going on in Queensland.”

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