After Kylie Johnson’s fast-food business was the target of two recent armed robberies, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“For safety reasons, I decided that I would close the front door,” the Townsville resident says.
“So, nobody comes in after 8pm.”
Police told her the alleged offenders were teenagers — and with the Queensland election nearing, youth crime, and how to tackle it, is front of mind.
Kylie isn’t confident that either major party has the solution — but she knows something has to change.
“They’ve had a very long time to change this, and nothing’s been done,” she says.
“We can’t keep doing what we’re doing.”
‘I haven’t met a Queenslander who hasn’t been impacted’
More than 300 Townsville residents have registered to attend a town-hall-style meeting on Wednesday evening hosted by Premier Steven Miles, where the problem is expected to be high on the agenda.
Mr Miles has been holding community meetings across the state in the lead up to October’s election, and said it was the “biggest response” he had seen.
He said he acknowledged last year that there was a “surge in crime” in Townsville, adding that new laws were currently before parliament.
“The first thing I did when I became the premier was come here to Townsville to listen to the police and ask them what they needed to do their job better,” he said.
The town hall comes less than a week after Opposition Leader David Crisafulli unveiled the LNP’s Making Our Community Safer plan, which includes an “adult crime, adult time” court sentencing policy.
Mr Crisafulli said the policy would apply to offences like murder, manslaughter and serious assault — with the aim of stamping out “the generation of the repeat untouchables”.
Loading…
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support of what we have put forward,” Mr Crisafulli said on Wednesday.
“I haven’t met a Queenslander who hasn’t been impacted directly or knows someone who has been impacted directly because of the youth crime crisis.”
‘The old days of party politics are long gone’
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, Ms Johnson says she wants to see each party’s policies before she decides where her vote will go in October.
She said politicians need to be out speaking to Townsville residents.
“I think the old days of party politics are long gone,” she said.
“I want the best policies for my family, and for my business, and for me.”
Loading…Loading…