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Recording of Proceedings, 20 May 2025
The member for Cooper talks about justice and what it means, but when it comes to youth crime in Queensland the people of Queensland have spoken about how they see justice being perceived and how it should be implemented. That justice involves putting community safety first, putting victims first and reversing the decade of failure that was
implemented by the former Labor government which saw victim numbers soar and people too afraid to go out in their community in some parts of Queensland. That is what justice is about. It is about restoring safety in people’s communities, and that is what this bill is continuing to implement in Queensland. We are continuing to implement the election commitment the LNP made when it comes to Adult Crime, Adult Time. This bill is a continuation of the Crisafulli government doing what we said we would do and not doing what we said we would not do.
The offences being included are going armed so as to cause fear, threatening violence, attempt to murder, ccessory after the fact to murder, assaulting a pregnant person, torture, damaging emergency vehicle, endangering a police officer, rape, attempt to commit rape, assault with intent to commit rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, kidnapping for ransom, deprivation of liberty, stealing, attempted robbery, arson, endangering particular property by fire and trafficking in dangerous drugs. This is Adult Crime, Adult Time. The question in this debate is: what will the Labor Party do? Are they going to turn themselves inside out again, like they did in December last year? Are we going to have people running out of the parliament or hiding over on the backbench too afraid to look up during the division?
I think it was the member for Logan who said ‘probably’. We can see what the opposition is going to be doing. Thank you for your interjection, member for Logan. They still have not got the message from the people of Queensland about how there needs to be a recalibration of the scales of justice and what justice means in this state when it comes to the scourge of youth crime. It has had a devastating impact on so many communities from 2015 through to 2024 because of the actions of the ALP in Queensland in watering down those laws.
Adult Crime, Adult Time is a reaction to the scourge of youth crime that has enveloped our state over the years. It is our job as a government to address that, and that is what we committed to do. This is the process we committed to in doing that. I support this bill 100 per cent, as do people in my communities that I represent. From Tamborine Mountain, Beechmont and Binna Burra in the east to Grandchester in the west, people want to see justice recalibrated in Queensland on this issue, and this bill is a part of that. Members opposite need to get the message from the people of Queensland that there can be no more prevarication, no more dillydallying and no more wavering in their resolve to put the community first and to put victims first. They should be supporting this bill 100 per cent.