The Miles/Palaszczuk Labor government has been focusing on divisive vanity projects instead of prioritising escalating crime in Queensland, with offenses up 31% since 2019.

While Labor is pursuing the Olympic Games in 2032 and continuing the divisive path to treaty process despite the overwhelming Queensland no vote at the referendum, crime is getting out of control.

The Courier-Mail has revealed more than 600,000 offences were reported in Queensland in 2023, a 7.3% increase on last year. That’s more than 50,000 offences per month.

Crime is escalating under Labor and they don’t have a plan to address it. Police recruitment is not meeting its targets, and officers from Yeppoon and Rockhampton are leaving the force to work in other industries like train driving—trains aren’t spitting at you, trying to assault you, or ram you in a stolen vehicle.

Labor is prioritising vanity projects like the 2032 Olympics, already committing billions of dollars it initially said it would not spend, and pursuing the controversial path to treaty process despite the withdrawal of necessary bipartisan support and Queensland’s overwhelming rejection of racial divisions at last year’s voice to Parliament referendum.

The first priority of any government should be community safety.

Labor needs to acknowledge that 95% of Queenslanders want tougher penalties for repeat offenders and act accordingly. They also need to acknowledge the great success of intervention and redirection programmes for at-risk young people like Operation Hard Yakka in Maryborough, and interstate programs like Operation Flinders in South Australia.

One Nation will work to integrate such programmes into Queensland’s youth justice system.

Labor should not be afraid to adopt One Nation’s policies that will ensure repeat offenders are held accountable for their crimes, and which will also address the causes of repeat offences. Queenslanders have had enough of beinag afraid in their own homes as crime spirals out of control under Labor.