Kemp and Minns clash over bail laws

MEMBER for Oxley Michael Kemp and Premier Chris Minns butted heads in NSW Parliament last week over youth crime and bail laws.

During Question Time on Tuesday, 21 October, Mr Kemp asked whether it would take a death from crime before the Government acted to tighten youth bail laws.

The Oxley MP’s question came days after news that the accused teen offenders of a crime spree in Kempsey had all been granted bail.

In response, Premier Minns said it was “foolish and inflammatory to be predicting a death in these circumstances”.

He then listed a suite of actions his government had taken to reduce the impacts of youth offending, including “strengthening 22 C Bail Law protections in relation to young offenders, doubling the penalty for knife offenses in New South Wales, [and] the introduction of Jack’s Law in the state”.

Mr Minns said that “crime across regional communities is down 10 percent” in the past two years, claiming that his Liberal/National Party predecessors did “absolutely nothing about crime” while in office.

Mr Kemp said that despite clear evidence of growing crime in regional NSW, the Premier refused to acknowledge the truth.

“In the Kempsey LGA alone, youth crime has jumped by 33 per cent in just 12 months,” he said.

“Yet when I questioned him in Parliament, the Premier claimed that crime figures are dropping in NSW.

“That response is a slap in the face to the people of Kempsey who are living with the reality of break-ins, car thefts, and violent crime increasing.”

Mr Kemp also moved the following motion in Parliament:

“I ask that this House:

1. Notes that violent repeat offenders in Kempsey, some already on bail, carried out an armed robbery, home invasion, and break and enter last week.

2. Recognises that despite the severity of these crimes, all offenders were granted bail.

3. Condemns the Minns Labor Government for failing to reform bail laws, leaving communities living in fear for their safety.

4. Calls on the Minns Labor Government to urgently take action to protect communities like Oxley from repeat violent offenders by strengthening bail laws.”