Last week it was great to have our hardworking ministers in Cairns for our first community cabinet meeting. Far North Queensland being first off the ranks shows the LNP Crisafulli government’s commitment to Far North Queensland. Our community cabinet heard from locals about a variety of issues—from housing and hospital issues to tourism and business opportunities—but it is no secret that Cairns crime is out of control.
On the Sunday before the community cabinet began a justice crime rally was held with over 500 residents of Cairns. I was honoured to attend and speak at the rally. Also in attendance were our hardworking Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support and Minister for Corrective Services and the Minister for Families, Seniors and Disability Services and Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.
We listened to victims of crime and heard their harrowing stories. We listened to residents who are a mix of furious, frightened and frustrated because of the crime in our beautiful city. Bravely, a letter was read out from a young married woman whose life will never be the same again, and my thoughts and prayers are with this couple, their family and friends and the first responders supporting them through these alleged crimes.
Safety where you live and a safer community is our government’s commitment, and this is why our government passed the Making Queensland Safer Laws. This means that a child who is sentenced under Adult Crime, Adult Time will be liable to the same minimum and mandatory sentences that apply to an adult. We are not finished with the Making Queensland Safer Laws yet. That was our first tranche and there is more to come this year, including Jack’s Law, which will allow police to use handheld metal detectors without a warrant to check for weapons, and Daniel’s Law, which will create a public sex offender registry, and there will be more to come.
Our team’s focus is on fewer victim numbers and I am pleased that tenders for two of the Crisafulli government’s critical youth crime-fighting programs have been released to market today. The Regional Reset will deliver one- to three-week resets for at-risk youth while the Staying on Track program will provide a 12-month post detention rehabilitation program, including at least six months of intensive rehabilitation which right now is only a 72-hour window and most of those repeat youth offenders are offending again and the cycle continues.
We are working every day to turn this mess around. There is no time to waste. We hear you and we are acting, Far North Queensland. There is a lot more to do, but we are with you every single day fighting. Thank you to those beautiful women who created that rally in Cairns. It was a really tough day for Far North Queensland, but I was honoured to be there. We will keep fighting for you.
