Cracks have emerged in the toughening public positions of the LNP and the Labor government,as legal figures and experts urge parliament to champion a smarter and bipartisan approach for community safety as well as young people’s chances of rehabilitation.
After Treasurer Cameron Dick’sswipe at Deputy Premier and Labor factional rival Steven Miles over hisoutburst on “rogue courts”,cabinet colleague Leeanne Enoch appeared to side with Miles on Monday by saying he was reflecting community expectations that courts “do their job”.
One of the 13 young people released on bail by a Townsville magistrate last week,in what was described as a “media stunt” by Miles,has since been found in breach of conditions and returned to custody for reconsideration of their bail.
Addressing reporters later on Monday,Crisafulli described calls at the weekend by his predecessor Deb Frecklington for temporary accommodation and a72-hour limit on watch house stays for young offenders “spot on”.
However,Crisafulli also repeated a line of attack his party has begun using:that the government led by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk “watered down” youth justice lawsafter it came to power in 2015 by reinstating the principle of detention as a last resort.
The principle,recognised in all other Australian states under part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child the country has signed,was abolished by the Campbell Newman-led LNP government in 2014.