I want you to picture the Cairns Courthouse, a place that should stand for justice, accountability and consequences but for far too long Far North Queenslanders have looked at the courthouse.
An offender walks in, they walk out on bail and then they commit another offence. The revolving door continues again and again. For victims, for police and for our community that is not justice; that is the definition of insanity. Our courts
must be places where consequences mean something. That is why our government is reforming bail. We will have the strongest bail laws in the country. We must put community safety back at the heart of justice system.
Labor weakened the laws. That is why they are talking so loudly now: they do not want to hear what I have to say. Crime followed. They made detention a last resort, which meant youth criminals could face court dozens of times and still not go to detention for their crime. They made it legal to carry small quantities of drugs which has increased drug use, violence and crime. You cannot be soft on drugs and tough on crime. They weakened bail laws so it was easy to get bail.
The member for Cairns voted for these laws to be weakened every single time. The member for Cairns also voted against Adult Crime, Adult Time laws. The member for Cairns has definitely offended the people of Cairns with his lack of representation for the people of Cairns.
He said, ‘There is no credible evidence that treating children as adults improves community safety.’ Last night was another indication of Labor’s soft views on the crime in our region. The member for Cairns voted against minimum mandatory sentencing for serious offenders who commit crime while on bail.
What makes Labor’s position even harder to understand is that they have not simply criticised these reforms; they have repeatedly voted against them. Since the change of government Labor has opposed some of the most significant law and order reforms brought before this parliament.
We will continue to bring in stronger laws because we will not stop fighting to reduce the crime crisis facing Far North Queensland. I will continue to stand up for my community. I will never weaken a law; I will always strengthen a law in this place. That is exactly why I am here. That is exactly why we will make Breach Bail, Go to Jail law by the end of the year.
