Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Two thousand, seven hundred and twenty-eight long days: that's how many days the community of Townsville have endured a complete lack of action on youth crime since the election of the Palaszczuk state Labor government. For 2,728 long nights, people have been lying awake in their beds worried if that sound is someone trying to break into their house, steal their car keys and drive off with their car. There have been thousands of days of catch-and-release programs enabled by the revolving door of the youth justice system.

My community can't deal with this any longer. The three state Labor representatives don't answer emails, don't respond to social media and don't face the media unless they're cutting a ribbon or turning the first sod. Last week we had seven stolen cars set alight, completely destroyed by fire at the hands of young criminals. Last month a teenaged boy faced court on 15 charges, including being involved in ramming a car with passengers inside and torching a stolen car. Not only that, this teenager also attempted to carjack a woman at a local park. Was he sent to jail? No. Did he have a conviction recorded? No. The judges say they're working within their limits.

What do Labor want to do with the high crime rate that we see in Townsville? They want to raise the age of criminal responsibility. They've said it here at the federal level and they've said it at the Queensland state level. That will mean that more children like this will be committing crimes and terrorising our residents. The people of Townsville deserve better.

See this speech in context