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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
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Ben Smee

Maryborough crash tragedy shows draconian laws can’t eradicate youth crime

Tributes left at the scene of the fatal Maryborough crash in Queensland, Australia
The Maryborough car crash came weeks after political and media pressure led the Queensland government to override its own Human Rights Act to adopt harsh youth crime laws. Photograph: Rob Maccoll/AAP

The Maryborough crash that killed three people last Sunday has laid bare how incoherent politicians, some media outlets and community members have become in attempting to respond to youth crime.

Queensland is no longer having a policy debate. It has become a giant outpouring of emotion – mostly anger – as political opportunists assure grieving community members that a deeply complex social situation can be solved by a harder swing of the hammer.

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