Project to help tackle youth unrest at Woorabinda

Community strength is being harnessed to help combat youth unrest at Woorabinda
in response to several incidents during the past few months.

Communities Minister Warren Pitt said $465,000 had been allocated over three years under the Department of Communities’ Safe Youth–Safe Communities initiative.

“With this funding, a team of professional youth justice staff will be established to strengthen youth justice services in the area and provide an increased presence for youth justice staff,” Mr Pitt said.

Member for Fitzroy Jim Pearce said an early intervention coordinator would be employed as part of the project to focus on coordinating the referral of at-risk youths and build the community’s capacity to provide support to these youths.

“Youth unrest is a community problem and the community must help tackle it,” Mr Pearce said.

“Contemporary evidence indicates an integrated community approach, supported by sufficient levels of local service provision, is critical to achieving positive outcomes.

“This initiative is one of the elements of an action plan developed and agreed upon between police, schools, Indigenous health and the Woorabinda Aboriginal Council in response to an increase in youth unrest.

“It will put in place interventions to tackle the causes of youth unrest so we can divert young people from antisocial and offending behaviour,” he said.

Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3235 4280; Mr Pearce’s Office 4933 2755