Federal Nationals Member for Page Kevin Hogan has spoken out about the youth crime crisis that is affecting our communities.
Mr Hogan said last weekend, three teenagers armed with knives broke into a home in Casino and attacked a 67-year-old woman. Some of Mr Hogan's friends were also threatened and attacked in Yamba.
"This isn't a one-time thing. I receive regular reports of similar crimes in places like Goonellabah, Maclean, Grafton, and Coraki. Many people feel scared and unsafe as youth crime continues to increase.
"We need to get these young people off the streets – not just to protect our communities but to help them as well. They need to learn accountability and responsibility."
As part of the plan to get Australia Back on Track, Mr Hogan said The Nationals in government would:
• Work with state and territory governments to create tougher laws to address youth crime.
• Make bail laws stricter to restore consequences for actions.
• Crack down on knife crime by restricting the sale and possession of knives, and giving police the powers to stop and search.
• Ban using social media to brag about crimes, stopping the trend of offenders glorifying their actions online.
• Provide $7.5 million in additional funding to Crime Stoppers to expand its operations and protect more Australians from the impact of crime in our communities.
"People deserve to feel safe in their homes, on their streets, and in their towns. It's time to take action to solve this problem and keep families and individuals safe," Mr Hogan said.
He said a Nationals Government will get Australia back on track by tackling the crime and anti-social behaviour that threatens the safety of our communities.
