Jack’s Law: ‘A legacy that should not be limited to a short period of time’

Speech presented by Member for Whitsunday Amanda Camm MP to the Queensland Legislative Assembly on March 30, 2023.

I rise to contribute to the Police Powers and Responsibilities (Jack’s Law) Amendment Bill 2022.

I also want to place on the public record my sincere condolences, respect and gratitude to Belinda and Brett Beasley, their son Mitch and all of Jack’s friends.

They have demonstrated, through community action and advocacy as well as by working collaboratively with the police minister, their local member and the Queensland Police Service, what you can deliver and what can come out of what was a heinous tragedy.

I would also like to acknowledge and place on record my thanks to the member for Bonney on behalf of all communities across Queensland. He has demonstrated what a local member can achieve by listening to his community, by being an advocate and by spending his time contributing as he does as a member of the Jack Beasley Foundation.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of our previous leader, Deb Frecklington, the Member for Nanango, and our current Leader of the Opposition, David Crisafulli. They have continued the advocacy with Brett and Belinda.

‘Detect knives, save lives’ — I am a mother of young adult children. I recall some years ago when my son was at Schoolies Week in Airlie Beach the take-up and the threats that were apparent amongst youths in particular around knife crime and the number of young people who were carrying knives.

My son is now 22 so this was some five years ago. This trial was a success because hundreds of knives and weapons were picked up. We acknowledge the extraordinary powers that police have with this trial that was undertaken, but the evaluation of the trial has demonstrated that it has worked.

We will never know the number of lives, injuries or violence it has prevented, but we are certainly grateful for what it has delivered. This law and the Jack Beasley Foundation will continue the advocacy and education, and I would certainly welcome them across my electorate, as I know many Queensland MPs would.

I have two safe night precincts in my electorate for my community—that is, Airlie Beach and Mackay. I would like to acknowledge those members of the safe night precincts as well as my local Queensland Police Service.

Post COVID the government and the Attorney-General threatened to decrease funding, and we waited months before we knew whether funding was going to be available to support our safe night precincts to proceed. I am pleased that the government did reinstate that funding and I am pleased that I had that advocacy with members of the Queensland Police Service. I engage with them regularly across my community, and I thank them for their service not just in the safe night precincts but across the community in crime prevention every single day.

I also acknowledge Anglicare North Queensland in Airlie Beach and Mackay Street Chaplaincy in Mackay. They work alongside the many people who want to keep our streets safe, and they also engage with young people and ensure they are well looked after during those wild nights out that we sometimes see.

As outlined by members on this side of the House, we will be moving an amendment to this legislation that looks at the review period of two years and that the evaluation actually be a legislative review.

While we acknowledge there should be an independent evaluation after two years and that things may need to be tweaked, as outlined by the Leader of the Opposition, Jack’s Law is a legacy that should not be limited to a short period of time. That is not a message we want to send to criminals across our state.

It is not a message we want to send to young people who are engaging in knife crime. It is not a message we want to send to our broader community when it comes to public safety. Laws are put in place to protect people. Public safety and the role which legislators play is critical to upholding our community safety. It is the one role that we have where we can make a real difference, and in particular when it comes to Jack Beasley, it is the least we can do when it comes to legacy in this state.

Let us not ever have his loss of life be in vain. I also want to put on the public record the absolute disdain that I witnessed in this House by the Member for Maiwar. I do not often worry or concern myself too much with what members of the Greens say in this House, but I must say it is an absolute insult to every serviceman and servicewoman of the Queensland Police Service what I heard from that member.

It is an absolute insult to parents across this state what was outlined by the member for Maiwar, his concern that illicit drugs might be picked up, that there are other issues which may arise that impinge on people’s freedoms. We need to send a very clear message: if you are partaking in illegal activity, there are consequences for your actions. I hope the member for Maiwar goes back and expresses to his constituents in the community that he does not support the Queensland Police Service, that he does not support this trial, that he does not support this law, because it was an insult, an absolute insult.

I certainly want the people of broader Queensland and those here in South-East Queensland and in the member’s electorate to know that on this side of the House we take very seriously law and order and we take very seriously our emergency services’ contribution to this state.

Let us never forget: they are the people who put their lives on the line each and every day to keep our communities safe. With that, I am pleased to be able to contribute. Once again, I thank the member for Bonney who has demonstrated the real depth of what a true parliamentarian can deliver in this state.