Nationals Member for Oxley, Michael Kemp, has slammed the Minns Labor Government for voting against the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Youth Crime) Bill 2025, calling it a betrayal of regional communities suffering under the youth crime crisis.
“I’m sick of the political games that get played in Macquarie Street,” Mr Kemp said.
“While the Labor Government worries about optics, regional families are left to worry if they’ll be safe in their own homes at night. That tells you everything you need to know about their priorities.”
The Bill put forward tougher measures to combat youth crime, including:
• Expanding the definition of repeat offences beyond break and enter and car theft, to include serious indictable crimes like murder and sexual assault.
• Introducing electronic monitoring and mandatory curfews as bail conditions.
• Automatically revoking bail for breaches, new charges, or interference with monitoring devices.
• Elevating the voice of victims in court through victim impact statements.
“These are reasonable, practical measures to back our police, stand up for victims, and make sure offenders face real consequences,” Mr Kemp said.
“Labor’s decision to block them shows they simply don’t care about the safety of regional people. Out here, we don’t have the luxury of turning a blind eye. We see the crime, we see the fear, and we see the damage it causes to our community.
“Our police are doing everything they can, but they’re being let down by weak laws and a government that doesn’t have the spine to act.”
