Dametto: ‘Government has blood on its hands’
Youth crime failures slammed in wake of triple fatal
A North Queensland MP has hit out at the state government’s “failures” to adequately crack down on youth crime in the wake of a triple fatal crash allegedly involving a 13-yearold car thief.
Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said it was “gutwrenching” to hear that three women were killed when their cars were hit in Maryborough on Sunday night.
Police have since charged a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly behind the wheel of a stolen BMW involved in the crash with multiple offences.
The crash is the latest tragedy linked to the ongoing plague of youth crime across Queensland.
Mr Dametto described it as a “senseless act of violence with a motor vehicle.”
“These three innocent people were just minding their own business, travelling down the highway and were taken
out,” he said.
Earlier this year, the state government unveiled a 10point youth justice plan focused on increasing the maximum penalty for stealing a car from seven to 10 years, and a more severe penalty of 14 years if committed at night or involves violence.
Mr Dametto argued the government was still “failing” to deliver effective change on
the issue.
“The state government right now is enabling this behaviour,” he said.
“They’ve failed in their latest raft of laws they’ve passed. They haven’t even put a dent in juvenile offending,
“The state government, the Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard, and the Premier have failed us, and we’ve seen another three lives lost because of this failure.
“Blood is on the Queensland Government’s hands here. We’ve had eight deaths attributed to youth crime since Christmas last year.
“They need to completely dismantle the system which has failed Queenslanders everywhere from youth justice to child safety and figure out a way to fix this.
“Because if they can’t, and they continue to tinker around the edges, more lives will be lost.”
Mr Dametto said he’d heard from several victims of crime who had their cars stolen in the Townsville area over the weekend.
“There were people coming back to houses after the initial break-in … three stolen cars and groups of people with knives and machetes threatening them,” he said.
“We’re not living in Johannesburg, ladies and gentlemen; this is Townsville … we’ve descended into youth crime hell here.”
Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard said the government is listening to the community and youth justice experts, and will take further action as required.
“What happened in Maryborough was a tragedy and my thoughts are with the family and friends of those who lost their lives,” Ms Linard said.
“The government has continued to listen to the community and act on youth crime.
“The latest example is the comprehensive suite of measures that have been implemented to target serious repeat offenders, tackle the complex causes of youth crime and support community safety, including an additional $100 million for diversion and rehabilitation programs.
“These measures have been in place for less than two months. The government’s top priority is community safety.”