Claytons change fails to remove Detention as a Last Resort from Youth Justice Act
The LNP has been fighting to remove detention as a last resort from the Youth Justice Act.
After hearing Premier Miles this morning, we believed we’d secured a major win for Queenslanders.
Sadly, that is not the case.
Today Labor has been exposed for just rewording, not removing, the principle of detention as a last resort from the Youth Justice Act.
Labor’s official Statement of Compatibility confirms the effect of the Bill is not changed by a clumsy attempt to reword detention as a last resort:
“The proposed amendments to s52A(1) of the Youth Justice Act 1992 (YJ Act), and to principle 18 in schedule 1 of the YJ Act, are clarifying provisions and are not intended to change the law.”
It can’t be much clearer than that - “not intended to change the law”.
The Premier has misled Queenslanders. The Premier has misled victims.
Labor has been exposed as saying and doing anything to get elected.
This is a hollow and desperate act, from a Premier attempting a political fix not a genuine fix for the broken Youth Justice Act.
This is all about how the Premier is perceived, six-months out from an election.
Queenslanders want to be safe in their communities, but today, nothing has changed under Labor’s reworded “clarification”.
Under Labor’s detention as a last resort, youth offenders will still only be detained after every other option has been exhausted and magistrates are not free to impose a sentence to match the crime.
The only things clarified today are that Steven Miles isn’t up to the job, he doesn’t take crime seriously and he is willing to deceive victims for his own political gain.
To claim you’re doing something, only to be exposed by the detail as actually not doing it, is a window into Labor’s chaos and crisis.
This is a shocking insult to victims of crime, including those who marched on Parliament yesterday demanding genuine change.
Just weeks ago, Steven Miles said removing detention as a last resort would be “dangerous”, and today his position remains unchanged.
Steven Miles would rather con victims and Queenslanders than get serious on crime.
The only way to change Labor’s detention as a last resort is to change the Government.
Only the LNP will making our community safer, with the Making Queensland Safer Laws.
