Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the tsunami that is smashing my electorate and, in fact, all of Queensland, and that is youth crime. Right around our state, young juvenile delinquents are running rampant. They are stealing cars, they're breaking into homes, they're hurting our kids and they're killing innocent people. I recently ran a petition in my electorate, asking people who had been affected by this crime wave to have their say and stand with our state opposition leader, David Crisafulli, in the recall of Queensland parliament. Hundreds of people in Dawson signed this petition because they do not want to have to wait for the Premier to come off holidays to feel safe. These calls have fallen on deaf ears.

Reported in the Australian on 30 December, the Premier was quoted on Christmas Day as saying:

Can I say this and be upfront and frank? The courts need to do their job.

That's what Ms Palaszczuk said. While Premier is busy playing the blame game, recent figures have revealed that in just December 2022—that is, one month—2,133 cars were stolen in Queensland. In the meantime, while we're waiting for Queensland's parliament to return, we've had small-business owners in Bowen robbed at knife point and cars stolen and burned. Last week, Mackay Christian College was terrorised by a joyrider driving erratically in a stolen car. The principal, Dr Barclie Gallogray, said one of his students was nearly killed after this young criminal smashed into a bus stop, missing the students by centimetres—the students were sitting in the bus stop. Our children are now too scared to go to school.

Youth dominated crimes are on the rise. Break-ins, burglaries, shop and car thefts, joyrides, arson and property damage are all on the rise, and Queensland's youth reoffending rates are the worst in the nation. There are reports on community Facebook pages each and every day all across my electorate from victims being terrorised. The people in Dawson are living in fear and are essentially prisoners in their own home. This is just not acceptable. I'm urging Prime Minister Albanese to pull his Labor partner in crime into line and start looking after the victims and not the criminals. Queenslanders want Queensland parliament recalled now. Stop looking after the criminals.

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