An elderly woman who was attacked by machete-wielding home invaders has slammed moves to protect teenage criminals from prosecution, and says New South Wales needs “adult time, adult crime” laws instead.
Sue, who lives in the aboriginal crime-ravaged town of Kempsey, was woken up this week by three thugs in black hoodies standing over her bed demanding her car keys – and believes they were no older than 13.
After getting out of bed when the teens ran into the kitchen she was then slashed at by one of the young thugs who said “I’m going to fucking kill you” before swinging the blade at her.
“I managed to get out of the way and he swung it down and hit the refrigerator. If it hit me I don’t think I’d be here,” Sue told The Sunday Telegraph.
“If they want to do adult crime, a serious thing like this, they should be facing adult time, because old women, good people, are suffering.”
She felt compelled to speak out after an independent report commissioned by the Labor state government argued against changing doli incapax laws that protect children between 10 and 14 from criminal convictions on the grounds they are incapable of knowing the difference between right and wrong.
The report instead recommended “voluntary pathways”, “therapeutic treatment”, and making children who commit less serious crimes eligible for a caution or Youth Justice Conference by “not denying” the offence rather than “admitting” to the offence.
The review came after the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reported a huge drop in the proportion of 10-13-year-olds found guilty in court – from 76% in 2015-16 to just 16% in 2022-23.
Nationals MP for Oxley Michael Kemp and NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said youth crime in regional areas was rampant, and listed off a series of disturbing recent incidents in Kempsey, Walgett and Moree.
“This is a shocking case where an elderly woman is being forced from her home due to ongoing violence and fear,” Mr Kemp said.
“Her story is sadly not new or rare but is becoming alarmingly normal because these young offenders are not being held to account. The lack of justice clearly isn’t working and something needs to change.”
Mr Saunders added: “These types of incidents show the horrifying reality of what people in the bush are going through every single day but there’s no urgency whatsoever from this Government and no willingness to act.”
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli last year fulfilled an election pledge to bring in “adult crime, adult time” laws, and by October almost 3,000 children had been charged with offences under the new legislation, which gives minors the same sentences as adults for 20 serious offences including murder and rape.
The calls for “adult crime, adult time” laws in NSW come after a petition was started to bring in Castle Law to allow residents to defend their families and properties, and similar proposals have been made in Queensland and Victoria.
Header image: Left, right, CCTV of recent break-ins in the Kempsey region (supplied).
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