Crack down on violence

THE endemic occurrences of violent youth crime and domestic violence against (overwhelmingly) women are, surely, critical issues that need to be addressed with serious legislation that is quite clearly punitive in nature.

The repeat offences that are now so common in our community are not the fault of poor policing. Nor is the judiciary (in the main) culpable.

It is simply not good enough for local Labor parliamentarians to dodge the issue by saying things such as “these are very complex matters” or “locking them up is not the simple solution”.

With youth crime, the main exacerbating factor it is quite clearly the Youth Justice Act, legislation which clearly demands of magistrates and judges that they consider every option other than incarceration in terms of individuals who commit, at times, what can only be called horrendous crimes of violence.

The instance of a 17-year-old allegedly committing rape in Cairns, while already on bail for a similar offence at Cooktown, is a prime example, although many others could be used.

Domestic violence against women and children is also endemic in parts of our community and the perpetrators are allowed to hide behind a curtain of secrecy under an archaic Queensland law that keeps their identities secret.

Hopefully, the barbarity of the torching alive of a young woman and her three children will be a catalyst for systemic change that will cause brutish mongrels to be punished with clear and punitive penalties.

Could I suggest to the Premier that, rather than calling another talkfest as she has done, that she recall parliament and allow the leader of the Opposition to present her quite comprehensive Bill that will deal with the issue.

That would be a clear bipartisan signal that horrific violence of the nature we have witnessed will not be tolerated.

I’m not holding my breath though. Dennis Quick, Fishery Falls