Activist’s plan to end cycle of crime
AN ACTIVIST against youth crime has labelled care homes a “complete failure”, saying the community needs to unite now more than ever to stem the region’s crime crisis.
One Community One Standard founder Jeff Adams said more funding could not fix the system, in the wake of four teenagers dying in a horrific crash on Sunday.
The deaths have sent shockwaves through the community and reignited calls for action against youth crime after a brief period of relief at the peak of COVID-19 restrictions.
All four teenagers, aged between 13 and 17 years old, and the 14-year-old driver of the car were known to the Department of Child Safety.
Tributes have flooded in for the children who were killed when the allegedly stolen car they were travelling in clipped a roundabout, flipped and hit a traffic light pole about 4.30am on Sunday.
Mr Adams, who has been passionate about the issue for months and had predicted the deaths some time ago, saying someone would die if the laws were not changed.
He said the expenses used to run “bail houses” and residential care homes should be put to good use in on country programs.
“Youth Justice is a huge business and a huge cost to our society and if anyone thinks that more funding is the answer than you need to look at the enormous waste in the system now,” he said.
Mr Adams, alongside indigenous elder Uncle Rusty Butler and Wayne Parker, has worked hard to spread their solutions across the region and gathered thousands of signatures on a petition aimed at gaining government support.
Mr Adams’s goal has always been to have all levels of government back their journey to stem youth crime, and gather “bipartisan support”.
They are demanding no more d delays l or distractions as they call for the legislation to be changed to reflect community expectations.
“We have and always will be about uniting our community and honestly accepting and promoting that the problem of juvenile crime, both indigenous and non-indigenous transcends politics,” he said.
“Now is the time that we as a community need to unite and come together like never before and play our part in demanding immediate action from all three levels of government.”
A TOWNSVILLE bar and restaurant has revealed plans for a $500,000 facelift that will transform the waterfront destination into a tropical paradise.
The Watermark Townsville will be unrecognisable in a matter of four months when the 200sq m beer garden undergoes a major refurbishment.
Owner Danny Meares has been sitting on his ideas for “a long time” and took the opportunity during the coronavirus lockdown to put his dream into action.
“The way I can picture it is as a tropical beer garden with lots of plants and fantastic lighting and a water feature,” he said. “The thing that I want is somewhere for Townsville to be proud of, to take their family, friends and visitors and it will be a place for everyone.”
Local builders John Gray Constructions will head the project that will see the watering hole undergo a transformation for the first time in 15 years.
Owner and builder John Gray said when he was approached by Mr Meares to remodel the venue, he couldn’t contain his excitement.
“I had a smile from ear to ear. I just took in all of Danny’s info like a sponge and put it on paper and we have designed his dream,” he said.
“We are basically demolishing everything except for the roof, so it is going to be a brand new blank canvas ready to freshen up.”
The refurbishment is expected to take between six and eight weeks with the goal to be up and running in time for the Melbourne Cup in November.
Mr Gray said the new beer garden design would stay authentic to the venue’s heritage.