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

Alice Springs has featured a lot in public debate over the past few weeks, and for good reason. People are living in fear for their safety in their own homes, there is antisocial behaviour on the streets and cars are being stolen and driven dangerously. This is something that the people of Townsville have been enduring for nearly a decade, and it is a problem that the state Labor government continues not to address. The statistics don't lie. From 2020 to 2021, assaults increased by 56 per cent to 5,850, break-ins increased by 21 per cent to 5,024, the stealing of cars increased by 32 per cent to 1,557 and sexual assault increased by 12 per cent to 221, and these are only the ones that are reported. The police do a fantastic job. They continue to catch young offenders in Townsville, only for them to be let out by the courts because of Queensland's weak youth justice laws. Just last month a young offender with a 19-page criminal history was given a sentence of just three months jail for breaking into a house and multiple car thefts, with a release date after serving just half of the sentence. Meanwhile, insurance claims with RACQ for car theft in Townsville have jumped 37 per cent in a year. I once again call on the Queensland Labor government to toughen up the youth justice laws with much stronger measures than the weak tweaks that they announced this year.