As election day looms in Queensland, it’s three marginal Labor seats in Townsville which .The city has a reputation as a crime hotspot, at night; claiming to be fighting crime where they feel the police are failing. And despite an , the number
The Liberal National Party (LNP) is offering up the most radical solution, proposing a trial of youth curfews in Cairns and Townsville which would impact those 14 years old and under after 8:00pm, and 15 to 17 year-olds after 10:00pm. Studies have provided .
But the LNP’s strategy to get tough on crime isn’t the only campaign targeting juvenile offenders. , and, is j running for that Townsville seat.
So as Queensland gets ready to vote, how are young people feeling in Townsville? And if they were running, what would they offer as their solution for juvenile crime?
'You can't really just judge a book by its cover'
Haiden* is 18-years-old. He was born in Derby, Western Australia but moved to Townsville with his family around six years ago. He is Aboriginal and also has Torres Strait Islander heritage.
Haiden is in the middle of his final year 12 exams and has applied to do a Diploma of Sport at TAFE. But not all of his peers are on the same path.
"One of my mates ... recently went to Cleveland [Youth Detention Centre] for stealing," Haiden told The Feed.
Footy is Haiden's thing; the thing he does to keep himself grounded and energised.
"I really love footy. Like I can't get enough of footy," he said.
Politics, on the other hand, isn't high up on Haiden's agenda. This Queensland election will be the first he is eligible to vote in, and he isn't sure who he will vote for. He doesn't even know if he is enrolled. He has heard about LNP's plans for youth curfews though.
"If that happened a year ago ... so when I was 17, and if that happened to me, I would feel like crap...I would feel trapped," he said.
He also thought getting pulled up for breaking curfew, could end badly for young people. That they were likely to get frustrated with police.
"The Indigenous or the youth, they could actually end up in the Watchhouse for their language," he said.
This is the point that as well; that curfews could result in more young people in the justice system. They also worry it would be used unfairly against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids.
Haiden has experienced discrimination in Townsville. He said that last year some local residents made comments about him, his friends and his cousins.They had been training for the All Blacks Carnival; an Indigenous football competition that had them coming and going with big backpacks.
"And they actually racially profiled us and said that ... we were coming home with bags full of stolen stuff," said Haiden.
Haiden had experienced things like this before; not being let into stores at night for example.
And while Haiden thinks something needs to be done about youth crime, he doesn't see policing or curfews as the answer.
"I'd feel worried for all the youths and ... upset for them. Because most people, don't really know what they're going through... You can't really just judge a book by its cover," said Haiden.
‘I just care more about the environment than I do about people’
*Anika is 16 years old. She grew up in India until she was 9, and now lives in Townsville with her mum and her sister.
She aspires to do something in STEM, or to be a pilot. Anika was also this year’s representative for Townsville in the Queensland Youth Parliament.
For three days she worked with other young people from around Queensland, .
Before her experience in parliament, however, she wasn’t too interested in politics, which she reckons is pretty normal.
Queensland Youth Parliament in action. Source: Supplied
“In my experience, a lot of my friends and a lot of the kids in my school aren't involved in politics at all,” Anika told The Feed.
She hasn’t really been following the Queensland election but said she crammed for the purposes of our interview.
Anika's main takeaway was that "there was a lot of controversy on that curfew that Deb Frecklington wanted to implement".
But she doesn't have any issue with the curfew herself.
"And there is a clause to that act ... unless it's a reasonable excuse, you should not be, outside wandering the streets after 10:00pm. So I think that's perfectly reasonable."
The Feed contacted the LNP for clarification on their proposed curfews, and what would constitute a reasonable excuse, but they failed to respond by deadline.
Putting her mind to the political agenda, if she was running she would campaign on climate policy.
"I guess the environment, that would be my main priority ... I just care more about the environment than I do about people, I guess."
Anika does believe there is an issue with youth crime in Townsville and has seen the consequences of it play out in her life.
She said she once was stopped from filling the family car with petrol, which she perceived as the station's response to a trend of juveniles stealing fuel.
But Anika wasn't angry about the incident.
She said, "if enough juveniles commit crimes... it's natural for them to be suspicious."
‘Mental health is an important thing to me...we just need to learn at a young age how to deal with emotions’
*Wila is 17 and descends from the Kunja tribe in Cunnamulla, South West Queensland. She's doing her year 12 exams and is interested in working at the local Indigenous radio station. She is also an artist in her free time.
Like Haiden and Anika, Wila has not been following the election campaign very closely. She has, however, heard about the curfews. Under the proposed curfew plan, as a 17-year-old, she would be restricted from going out after 10:00pm.
"For people who aren't doing the wrong thing, it's not fair," she said. "Because it's ... a collective punishment; just punish everyone who's ... actually not doing the wrong thing."
For Wila the issue with youth crime is that young offenders aren't being adequately punished when they do offend.
Wila’s artwork. Source: Supplied
"Their punishment is like a slap on the wrist," she said.
As the SRC President of her school, she is in charge of running events and has a particular interest in mental health.
"Mental health is an important thing to me... we just need to learn at a young age how to deal with emotions ... Cause some people don't know how to ask for help."
But mental health isn't just something Wila wants to promote in her school. She sees its place in dealing with youth justice too.
"Like they might come from a struggle or a bad background or something," she said.
Her suggested solution for tackling the incidence of crime is to introduce young offenders to mentors and positive influences.
"Other people who grew up like them ... people that could say I was like you... but you know, you can make these good choices," she said.
*Names have been changed.
