Queensland premier vows ‘many more’ changes to youth justice laws as 13-year-old arrested after stabbing
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David Crisafulli’s comments come after 63-year-old supermarket worker was allegedly attacked by teen with a knife in Ipswich on Monday evening. The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has said his government intends to make “many more” changes to the state’s hardline youth justice laws, after the arrest of a 13-year-old accused of stabbing a supermarket worker.
Police alleged the boy attacked the woman with a knife at the Yamanto shopping centre in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, on Monday evening. The injured woman, a 63-year-old Coles worker, remained in a critical condition in hospital. The boy has been charged with attempted murder.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. Crisafulli’s government was elected in October promising to implement some of the strictest youth crime laws in the democratic world, including “adult time” legislation that passed the parliament last month and has already come into effect.
The premier has said the laws, which impose adult penalties for young people accused of certain serious offences, would “act as a deterrent”. On Tuesday, Crisafulli was asked by reporters whether the latest incident – less than a month after the laws came into effect – showed “Queenslanders are no safer under your government”.
