Reinstating breach of bail as an offence in Queensland would not have any impact on youth crime, the state government says.
More than 49,000 people have signed a state parliament petition, started by Liberal National Party Mayor of Redlands Karen Williams, calling for breach of bail to be listed as a crime.
Ms Williams lodged the petition last week following the sentencing of a teen who was on bail when he crashed a stolen car killing a Brisbane couple on Australia Day in 2021.
The now 18-year-old was handed a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to more than a dozen charges including two counts of manslaughter.
However, the teen will be eligible for release after serving six years.
The families of victims Matthew Field, 37, and Kate Leadbetter, 31, were bitterly disappointed by what they viewed as the leniency of the sentence, describing it as "grossly inadequate".
Matthew's parents, Ann and Russell Field, have called for a complete overhaul of the youth justice system.
"This is not a political issue, this is a moral issue," Mr Field told reporters on Friday.
"We are standing up because historically it has shown that the laws ... are not working and haven't worked for a long time.
"It needs a total overhaul, a total review. We have got to stand up, people like us and other victims of crime ... and support a change, a change for the law to be reviewed."
Despite the petition, Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard has ruled out reinstating breach of bail as a crime, saying most youth offenders who breach bail conditions are put in detention anyway.
"We don't want something that didn't work, that the court themselves couldn't use, because it was essentially charging them twice for the same offence," she told ABC Radio.
She said that breaching bail was an offence under the previous LNP government, but 185 youths found guilty did not get slapped with any extra punishments.
"No additional penalties, not one, were ever applied, and 90 per cent of those young people reoffended," Ms Linard said.
The minister said the government's removal of the presumption of bail last year has had a much bigger impact as Queensland has three times more young people behind bars than NSW does.
About 300 teens are in detention, she said, which is 100 more than last year before the laws were changed.
"Now that was a tough measure," Ms Linard said.
"What it essentially means is that young people have to prove that they should get bail, which is a reverse of what is the normal case in courts."
The minister also said investing in early intervention programs would have a bigger impact on youth offending in the long run.
