The rally cry

Victims of crime and fed up Townsville residents call on minister to attend rally

When Di Farmer was recently reassigned the Youth Justice portfolio by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk she said her prime focus would be to target “serious offenders”.

“These are the hard nuts to crack,” she said.

No one expects it to be an easy task to break up the almost nightly wave of car thefts plaguing Townsville, other Queensland regional centres, and other parts of Australia.

But a cabinet reshuffle and a gohard promise does little to relieve the anxieties of so many NQ householders who have already been broken into or believe it is just a matter of time until it happens to them.

That is why victims of crime and frustrated residents are planning an anti-crime rally next month at the corner of Dalrymple Rd and Woolcock St, and have invited Minister Farmer, along with local MPS Scott Stewart, Les Walker and Aaron Harper, to attend.

The rally is being organised by former Katter’s Australian Party candidate Clynton Hawks who was a victim of crime last August when his home was broken into with his three-week-old baby boy inside at the time.

“It’s just disgusting, and the sad thing is people in Townsville are just getting used to all this now because it’s just non-stop,” he said.

“We know Queensland Police Service do everything they can with what they’ve got.

“But something needs to be done. We can continue to go online and complain about it, or we can actually turn out and do something to show the government how serious this is.”

Given the state government response to the rally announcement, Townsville residents’ concerns are still getting lip service.

“This is a politically motivated event run by a former political candidate,” a government spokesman said.

“We are always open to talk directly to victims of crime.”

As the victims of crime numbers continue to stack up across North Queensland, that could represent a very large chunk of voters by the time the state election rolls around in October, 2024.