TRIPLE FATALITY NEAR MARYBOROUGH CAUSED BY TEEN IN STOLEN CAR IS THE FINAL STRAW FOR YOUTH CRIME INACTION

The senseless, shocking deaths of three innocent women around Maryborough brought about by the abhorrent actions of the 13 year old who stole his parent's Mercedes Benz and took off in the wee hours of the morning, obviously "out of his mind" at the time, shouldn't be politicised. 

That's about the only thing deputy premier Steven Miles is right about in relation to his most recent defence of the Palaszczuk government's handling of the youth crime crisis which has gripped Queensland. 

What happened to these three innocent women at the hands of this adolescent delinquent shouldn't become a government versus opposition youth justice policy "weaponised" tug of war. 

But it certainly should put the spotlight fair and square on the Palaszczuk government's continuing refusal to crack down on youth crime by not seeking to make juvenile offenders just as accountable as adult offenders for the exact same crimes through most necessary judicial law reform. 

If this 13 year old was 18 years old or over, then automatically he would be facing a lot more jail time for the three lives he took. There is nothing prejudicial in saying that. It's the way our justice system is. 

The application of the criminal code for the most serious offences, like murder, manslaughter and assault causing grievous bodily harm, needs to be adaptable, not set in stone and so regimentally relative to the offender's age. 

This 13 year old knew full well what he was doing. He knew when he took off down the road in his parent's car that he was breaking the law to begin with. 13 year olds know what consequences are. They know the difference between right and wrong.

Juvenile offenders who commit "adult like crimes" should be be treated like adults by judges and magistrates, not children. I hope Steven Miles cottons on to that.