Public has ‘right to know’ about cases

NORTH Queensland MPS have backed the public’s right to know about how the courts deal with a teenager who is accused of crashing a stolen car that claimed the lives of four children.

The four children, aged between 13 and 17 years old, were killed when the car crashed into a traffic light at Bayswater Rd on June 7.

Journalists were granted permission to report on the 14year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, when he was mentioned in Townsville’s High Risk Youth Court on Tuesday. Magistrate Steven Mosch said he took into account the “extensive reporting” of the crash.

“It involved the death of four young people … in my view it is reasonable to conclude there is a significant public interest in this proceeding and its outcome,” he said.

The Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women opposed the reporting of the matter and the presence of media.

Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said the community had the right to know about high profile cases.

“It’s a bit disappointing that the State Government does not share this view,” he said.

“The rumour mill can be worse than the actual truth and the fact the media has been granted access to this case will ensure reporting will be accurate and the community is given the correct information.”

Opposition North Queensland spokesman and Burdekin MP Dale Last said the issue of crime was important to the Townsville public.

“As long as the reporting is factual, then people deserve to know what happened because, after all, young lives were lost and if the reporting of this incident deters others from heading down the same path then at least some good comes from this,” he said.

“We need to respect the families of the victims but, as one family member said, the result of these types of activities sees young lives wasted.”

Last month, the Government introduced laws that ensured recidivist youth offenders who were a danger to the community were denied bail. A government spokesman said it was a matter for the courts if media can report on a specific case.

“The State Government introduced an amendment to the Youth Justice Act, which makes it clear that community safety must come first,” he said.

“We will always put the safety of the community first and these amendments which passed parliament in June now make it crystal clear to everybody that if a young person is a risk, they must not receive bail.”