A pledge to adjust youth sentencing laws after a supermarket stabbing has been slammed by a prominent lawyer as dangerous and reactionary.
But victim advocates say the laws should constantly be updated to protect those who are harmed by alleged youth criminals.
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has vowed to adjust his government’s centrepiece “adult crime, adult time” laws to ensure attempted murder is included in the list of offences for which youths can receive lengthy sentences.
The laws made mandatory life sentences for murder while other sentences doubled including for wounding, serious assault and robbery.
Further offences are set to be included after a 63-year-old Coles worker suffered critical injuries when she was stabbed in the back in an Ipswich shopping centre.
A 13-year-old boy was charged on Tuesday with attempted murder.
Coles has removed kitchen knives from sale at stores across Australia “out of an abundance of caution” as it conducts a review following the stabbing.
“The safety of our team members and customers is our number one priority across all aspects of our business,” a spokesperson said.
Mr Crisafulli defended the sentencing legislation not covering attempted murder, claiming there were always going to be multiple stages to refine the laws.
“It is not going to be a set and forget,” he told reporters in Cairns on Wednesday.
“Queenslanders are going to continue to see the changes.”
An expert panel is being established to assess the next wave of sentences to be changed, Mr Crisafulli said.
Greg Barns said Queensland could set a precedent for other states and territories to harshen laws. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
The decision has been criticised as a slippery slope for the government to potentially add minor offences with significant ramifications for young people.
“The government will simply keep adding charges to the laws depending on what is on the front page,” Law Alliance Australia criminal justice spokesperson Greg Barns SC told AAP.
“Let’s say there’s a spate of alleged shoplifting (offences), are you going to add those as well?
“It’s fundamentally a political exercise and a very dangerous one.”
He warned the decision could set a precedent for harsher laws in other states and territories.
“The danger of this practice is someone will come along and say ‘Oh well, they’ve done this in Queensland and we’re going to go further’,” he said.
However, he hopes Queensland magistrates will mitigate the risks of the changes given the courts are independent from the government.
The premier’s decision has also sparked ire from victim advocates who feel “hoodwinked” by the Liberal National government’s promise to crack down on youth crime.
Ben Cannon welcomed the premier’s quick decision to work to add attempted murder to the legislation. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)
Voice for Victims’ Ben Cannon, who helped his neighbour during a violent home invasion by four teens in 2021, said the incident has brought a wave of pain and trauma for many people in his group.
“I wouldn’t have expected any less from our group than for them to be outraged and stand together for better laws and justice,” he told AAP.
Mr Cannon said the government introduced the legislation to attack the “big-ticket items” like murder, manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and robbery and he expected there to be teething issues.
He welcomed the premier’s quick decision to work to add attempted murder to the legislation and called for a common-sense approach to the laws.
“I certainly don’t think that we would ever ask for the likes of shoplifting to be put in there,” he said.
“We, as a community, expect that when crimes become violent or dangerous by causing long-term trauma, near death or death … those are the crimes to be considered.”