By Marty Silk in Brisbane

THE Queensland government will lay the ground for another youth crime crackdown when parliament returns after a spate of high-profile homicides involving juveniles.

The government will introduce a Bill on Tuesday to allow its second major clampdown on juvenile crime in three years following the fatal stabbing of mother Emma Lovell at her home north of Brisbane, and the killing of a man with a disability who was waiting for a taxi in Toowoomba.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will make breaching bail a crime, a policy she repealed after coming to power in 2015 and which she has previously dismissed as ineffective.

“In a spirit of bipartisanship, the government will be adopting breach of bail once again,” she said.

“We have listened to the community and we want to work together in the spirit of bipartisanship in the best interests of the people of this state.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has criticised the government for adopting the Liberal National Party’s signature youth crime policy.

“This is despite the government opposing this as recently as yesterday,” he wrote on Twitter on Monday.

“We are doing more governing from opposition than the government.”

The government will also increase prison terms for car thieves, slap penalties on people who boast about crime on social media, and ensure judges take the histories of child offenders into account when deciding on bail applications.

The government will also spend almost $10 million to speed up the sentencing of children before courts in Brisbane, Townsville, Southport and Cairns.
The same amount will be spent trialling 20,000 car engine immobilisers in Townsville, Cairns and Mount Isa.

Cabinet has also approved a $42 million youth justice package, including fly-in police officers that can be dispatched to problem areas.

Ms Palaszczuk said the youth justice bill will be probed by a parliamentary committee for two weeks before returning to parliament for a final vote, which is expected to pass as Labor has a majority.

It’s the second time in two years the government brought in laws aimed at cracking down on youth crime after a suite of measures were introduced in April 2021.

The premier insisted the government was also focused on early intervention but said another crackdown was needed to target a small segment of repeat offenders.

“We’re seeing an escalation of their crimes and that is of serious concern to the people of this state,” Ms Palaszczuk added.