Selfless pair
Brett and Belinda Beasley have not let their son’s death stop them being a force for good
“We couldn’t save Jack’s life but hopefully we can save some others. There are lots of kids out there who’ve lost their lives to knife crime so if we can play our part.”
Those words from Belinda Beasley outside court on Friday sum up the sheer strength and determination the entire Beasley family has shown since their world was thrown into turmoil more than three-and-a-half years ago.
In mid-december, 2019, Mrs Beasley and her husband Brett were flung into the nightmare every parent fears – their Jack, 17, had been fatally stabbed outside the Surfers Paradise IGA. That moment flung their world upside down and into a washing machine of grief.
Amid incredible pain, the couple – with their son and a number of Jack’s mates – have chosen to do everything they can to stop another parent experiencing the same agony. Their tireless campaigning to get knives off the street had a big win earlier this month with Jack’s Law signed and expanded state-wide, giving police powers to search people in the safe night precincts and on public transport with metal detectors. The Beasley’s were once again front and centre explaining the laws and why they were necessary.
During the Easter weekend, six knives were seized across the state out of a whopping 600 searches.
That prompted Mr Beasley to declare the laws were working and making people think twice before packing a blade. The parents are not happy with the initiative just being Queensland based – they want to take it nationwide.
The Beasleys are not stopping with Jack’s Law either – they have been visiting schools and community groups speaking to teenagers about why they should “Live their life without a knife”.
When Jack’s killer’s appealed the length of his sentence and dragged them back to court again on Friday, the couple showed the same strength and determination they have been showing over the past three-and-a-half years.
Mr Beasley expressed relief but also made sure to talk about Jack’s law and what it had achieved. He described their win as a high. And then Mrs Beasley succinctly explained why they have been fighting so hard – it is for other parents – to try and prevent them facing the consequences of knife crime.
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