The Sunshine Coast’s new Shadow Minister for Police has used the first Parliamentary sitting week in his new portfolio to call for stronger laws to protect the community, and rebalance the scales of justice.
Ninderry MP Dan Purdie, whose portfolio also includes Corrective Services and Counter-Terrorism, said there are three inescapable truths that should guide police policy: people should be protected, criminals punished and police provided with the resources they need to get that job done.
“To protect Queenslanders from criminals, we must reduce the crime rate across the whole community as well as specifically target crimes committed against our most vulnerable,” Mr Purdie said.
“We must do more to stop family violence by introducing better laws to prosecute and punish offenders, as well as protect and support victims.
“We must effectively protect children from paedophiles and better equip the community with information they can use to protect themselves and their kids from registered child sex offenders.”
Mr Purdie said years of policing had taught him that no matter what we do, there will still be criminals and they will still need to be brought to justice.
“But to do that, we need effective laws that enable police to find and arrest criminals,” Mr Purdie said.
“Our police are tearing their hair out because the laws of this state are preventing them from doing their job.
“We need fairer sentences that reflect community expectations of a punishment fitting the crime and putting the rights of victims and communities before offenders.
“Queensland must have enough police to deliver the level of protection our community deserves, and those police need state of the art equipment to catch criminals and gather evidence to bring them to justice.
“We must also protect those who protect us, by providing better mental health and support services. “From my very first speech in this House I have said I believe a government’s highest priorities should be the security of its citizens, and the prosperity of society and for as long as I am in this place, and in this role I will use these as my guiding principles to develop policies that rebalance the scales of justice, and keep all Queenslanders safe.”