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

Last night, tonight, tomorrow night and every other night, someone's home will be broken into in Townsville. People will feel like prisoners in their own home. They'll feel unsafe. Just last week, we heard of the Townsville Fire basketball team's coach having their house broken in to. Shannon Seebohm wasn't home, but his pregnant wife was. She woke up to a noise, encountered the intruders and screamed at them to leave. Instead of fleeing, these fees charged at her. She had to lock herself in the bedroom for safety. These thieves then ransacked the house, discovered the car keys and stole the family's vehicles, including the Townsville-Fire-branded car. Hours later, the car was discovered, burnt in flames, and the other vehicle was also found abandoned. Sadly, this has become all too regular in my community.

Over the past few weeks, cars have been stolen from hospitals, the elderly have been robbed at knifepoint, and teenage gangs have terrorised our streets. Youth crime in Townsville is escalating, and the state Labor Party's light-on-criminals policy is making it worse. In Queensland far fewer teens have been locked up for their serious crimes. It's about time we get tough on youth crime. We must end the fail 'detention as a last resort' policy. It has failed. We need people representing Townsville that stand up and lock up these criminals.