Damning RTI reveals Labor out of ideas
The LNP has called on the Palaszczuk Labor Government to urgently adopt its policy to remove detention as a last resort from the Youth Justice Act after extraordinary documents revealed Labor admitted it has run out of youth crime policies.
Bombshell Right to Information (RTI) documents have exposed shocking admissions made by senior Labor Government figures they’ve used “almost everything in the cupboard” when it comes to policies designed to curb out of control youth crime in Queensland.
Shockingly, the 201 pages of RTI documents released by the LNP today show senior Labor figures admit the youth justice issues affecting Queenslanders “ain’t great” and “things are hotting up.”
The LNP has today demanded the Palaszczuk Labor Government also apologise for a series of out of touch comments regarding Queensland’s Youth Crime Crisis, including a text message that revealed the Premier was more focused on targeting community social media pages and rolling out media campaigns following the alleged murder of Emma Lovell.
Labor has also been caught cobbling together more policy on the run.
Documents revealed the Premier had still not approved the announcement of two new detention centres worth hundreds of millions of dollars, two hours before they were announced.
Premier had still not approved major measures costing hundreds of millions of dollars within two hours of the announcement.
Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli said the documents had unearthed what many Queenslanders already knew, the Palaszczuk Labor Government had run out of ideas to fix the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis.
“These documents are damning, and they paint a picture of chaos and crisis within the Labor Government,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“If Labor’s youth crime policy cupboard is bare then they must immediately adopt the LNP’s solutions.
“We have travelled the state and listened to Queenslanders, business owners, community groups and victims of crime.
“The LNP has the right priorities for Queensland’s future and has put solutions on the table to start tackling Queensland’s Youth Crime Crisis, including creating consequences for actions, unshackling the judiciary by removing detention as a last resort and delivering gold standard early intervention.
“Making our communities safer is a key priority for Queenslanders and would be a key priority of a future LNP Government.
“The Queensland Youth Crime Crisis was created by Labor when they watered down youth crime laws and created a generation of untouchables.
“Queenslanders deserve a government that has the right priorities for the future and these documents prove, that’s not Labor.”
Shadow Minister for Police Dale Last said the RTI documents were a stunning admission of failure.
“The Premier, her Ministers and senior Labor figures are at odds on how to fix the Queensland Crime Crisis,” Mr Last said.
“After nearly nine years in office, this tired, third-term government has admitted their 'ideas cupboard' is bare. This is an insult to Queenslanders.
“You’re more likely to get your car stolen in Queensland than anywhere else in the country, there are 204 fewer police officers on our streets, the laws are soft and Queenslanders are being slugged with insurance hikes due to skyrocketing crime.
“It’s abundantly clear, the Palaszczuk Labor Government doesn’t have a real plan to fix the Queensland Youth Crime Crisis.
“The LNP will continue to listen to Queenslanders and fight for our solutions to be adopted.
“These RTI documents prove this government is in chaos and crisis.”
