Incredibly, up to 90% of young people held in detention in Queensland are on remand. That means they haven’t had their day in court and haven’t received their sentence, and we cannot impose any penalty, remedial programs or training requirements on them.

What the State Government will do is start a $9.8 million fast-track sentencing program in Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns, Mt Isa and Southport so more young people spend less time on remand and more time serving their sentences. I believe this will be one of the most effective measures to break the cycle of offending.

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