Karl Stefanovic has unloaded on Australia’s crime problem after a teenage boy allegedly crashed a stolen car in Queensland killing three innocent people.
The allegedly stolen vehicle slammed into a Holden killing Kelsie Davies, 17 and church pastor Michale Chandler, 29, about 10.45pm on Sunday in Maryborough.
The force of the crash also shunted the vehicle into a Mazda, causing the death of its driver, nurse Sheree Robertson, 52, who was driving home after work.
A 23-year-old who was a passenger in the Holden was airlifted to hospital in Brisbane for treatment while a 13-year-old boy has been charged over the deaths.
‘How many times have we told you about stolen cars in Queensland? How many near misses?’ Stefanovic said on Today on Tuesday morning.
‘How many lives changed forever because youth crime is out of control?’
A frustrated Karl Stefanovic has unleashed a furious rant after a 13-year-old allegedly caused the horrific smash
Kelsie Davies, 17, was killed on Sunday night in the Queensland city of Maryborough when a Mercedes allegedly being driven by a 13-year-old boy smashed into the Holden she was in
‘Three innocent lives have been lost in a country town where things will never be the same again.’
His comments come six weeks after Queensland passed a suite of measures designed to drive down youth crime, including harsher prison terms for car thieves.
The changes appeared to have done little to ease concerns by locals with residents across the state demanding tougher action.
Desperate Townsville locals said in April they were in the middle of a terrifying youth crime wave with thefts, break-ins and violent crimes common in the area.
A fired-up Stefanovic said the latest incident at Maryborough would have a devastating impact on the community.
‘High schools, workplaces, churches, families ripped apart, daughters, mums, sons, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, cousins, friends are in the most terrible gut wrenching grief this morning,’ he said.
‘All because we can’t stop the crime.’
Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers appeared equally frustrated saying measures like curfews were pointless because they ‘penalise the ordinary child’.
‘These young people like this alleged 13-year-old, they are nothing but criminals. We need to target them, the courts need to hold them to account,’ he said.
‘The courts have actually got to stand up when we lock these kids up.’
Mr Leavers said he knows Maryborough and Harvey Bay well from his 30 years on the Queensland Police Force.
‘There is a core group of under a dozen young people who are causing mayhem and putting the community at risk,’ he said.
‘They need to be incarcerated and put away because they cannot live by society’s standards.’
‘States across Australia want to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. That would mean this 13-year-old would not be held to account.’
‘We cannot even put them before the courts.’
Currently across Australia children aged 10-14 are subject to criminal law but it must be proven they understood what they were doing was wrong.
A 2020 report from the Standing Council of Attorneys-General recommended doing away with this and raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
Church pastor Michale Chandler, 29, (pictured left with husband and fellow pastor Matthew Chandler) also died after the Holden was smashed into
Nurse Sheree Robertson, 52, was killed in a Mazda as she drove home from work at Maryborough Hospital
‘We need look at other programs and things that we can put in place at a very early age because when many of these kids get to 12 or 13, it’s a learned behavior. They are recidivous offenders and we can’t change that,’ Mr Leavers said.
‘We need to look at the parents and care givers who are clearly irresponsible.’
‘They are incapable of looking after any child, you couldn’t even trust them looking after a house brick, which can’t do anything.’
Police said a passenger in the Mercedes was believed to have fled the scene of the crash, while the 13-year-old sustained minor injuries to his foot during the crash.
The Bundaberg boy had allegedly taken the Mercedes from a home in Maryborough about two hours before the fatal crash.
He was charged with three counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
The 13-year-old is due to appear in Maroochydore Childrens Court.
The 13-year-old alleged driver (pictured) is set to front Maryborough Children’s Court
Police are still investigating the incident and have asked for information from anyone who saw the silver Mercedes in the Maryborough and Hervey Bay area before the crash.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday said her heart went out to the grieving families.
‘This is an awful awful tragedy and it should not be happening,’ she told reporters.
