Youth justice on the line as LNP and Labor weigh up community fears about safety
Looking down the barrel of the camera, LNP leader David Crisafulli addresses Queenslanders directly in the party’s latest TV ad.
Appearing concerned and candid in his home town of Townsville, Crisafulli delivers a simple message: Elect me, and I’ll keep you safe.
The ad has gotten under the skin of some Labor MPs as the party desperately strategises about how to get youth crime out of the headlines. The latest battle ground is the Liberal National party’s bid to remove the principle of detention as a last resort from the Youth Justice Act.
Guardian Australia understands that several Labor MPs fighting for their political survival in the October state election have proposed adopting the LNP policy.
But Labor MP Jonty Bush, who sits on the youth justice reform select committee, said the evidence to support removing detention as a last resort “doesn’t stack up”.
“The evidence we have heard on the public record is very clear that early intervention, prevention and where necessary detention is the only approach that works to drive down youth crime,” she said.
Guardian Australia understands the government has faced internal pressure to adopt the measure – which is a breach of the UN’s convention on the rights of the child.
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Another Labor source was sceptical about whether adopting the policy would provide any political cover or get the issue out of the tabloid media.
“The same logic was used last time, when we were told that we needed to make breach of bail an offence [for children], because it neutralises the LNP’s attack line,” they said.
“What do people expect will happen? We get a thumbs up from the LNP and permission to focus on other issues. Mandatory sentencing will be next.”
A month ago the premier, Steven Miles, faced a barrage of questions about youth crime at the Queensland media club.
Vyleen White, 70, had been fatally stabbed a week earlier outside a shopping centre and a 16-year-old charged with her murder. The community was deep in grief and there were cries for more to be done.
Miles empathised with White’s family but rejected that removing detention as a last resort was the solution.
He called the LNP policy “incredibly dangerous” and said it would make the situation “worse”.
“All of the evidence suggests that if you detain offenders for low-level offences, you expose them to hardened criminals, you expose them to gangs, you make it much more likely they will reoffend,” he said.
Miles’ comments aligned with what experts have been saying. Genevieve Sinclair, the chief executive officer at Youth Empowered Towards Independence, told the youth justice committee in February that ending detention as a last resort would be “very expensive” and would not work.
“What we have is … children for very protracted periods in watch houses. When we have looked at the strategies that have been put in place over the past two or three years, we see double the amount of young people in detention compared to 12 months ago,” she said.
“We have the toughest youth justice laws of any state.”
A few weeks later Labor suffered double-digit swings against them in byelections in the safe seats of Ipswich West and Inala.
Darren Zanow, the LNP candidate who secured Ipswich West, had campaigned on a platform of cracking down on youth crime.
Pressure was building and this week Miles softened his stance. He told reporters he would consider the measure if the youth justice committee recommended it.
Related: NSW police say they will keep locking up young offenders but advocates say approach is ‘draconian’
The committee held a private two-hour meeting on Wednesday ahead of the interim report which is due to be released next month.
Guardian Australia understands the report will address sentencing principles of the Youth Justice Act, including detention as a last resort.
Both parties are aware that any fear and anxiety in the community may sway votes at the October election.
The LNP has indicated they won’t let up on the issue, publishing several press releases on youth crime this week alone.
Labor has also announced a major crime crackdown in which police will target high-risk offenders.
The premier remains tight-lipped on whether the government will ditch detention as a last resort, but said community safety is paramount.
“Every Queenslander deserves to feel safe in their community,” he said.
“We will continue to back our police and support them with … tough laws to keep people safe.”
Additional reporting by Andrew Messenger
