NEW South Wales Premier Chris Minns recently met with local welfare organisations and Moree Plains Shire mayor Mark Johnson, and assured the community the State Government  was committed to helping solve juvenile crime in the town.

“We’re going to be a long-term partner here. I promise, this is not about me coming to Moree, issuing a media release, and saying ‘job done’. We’re just at the beginning, and we’ve got a long way to go,” Mr Minns said.

“We’re getting a better map of the land to understand where interventions will make a difference.

“This is really about hope; this is about making sure young people, in particular, know there’s hopeful days ahead.”

Mr Minns announced grants to encourage innovative, community-led, after-hours and weekend activities for young people across the Moree Shire.

Moree PCYC, Miyay Birray and SHAE Academy were awarded additional funding to expand and improve after-hours activities for young people in Moree.

Moree PCYC was awarded $314,000 to expand the U-Nites program to an additional two evenings each week, on Thursday and Saturday nights.

SHAE Academy was awarded $152,000 to deliver specialised youth programs on Friday and Saturday nights each week, with staff support until 2am.

Miyay Birray was awarded $282,000 to improve and expand StreetBeat so it operates until midnight Monday to Wednesday and until 2am Thursday to Sunday.

(from left) Moree Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Steve McIntosh, NSW Premier Chris Minns and Moree Plains Shire Mayor Mark Johnson in Moree last week (Image Copyright).

The police presence in Moree has also been heightened, the premier said.

“The policer play a massive role, and they’ve assured us NSW Police are running operations in Moree  and that they’ve got the resources in place to keep the community safe,” Mr Minns said.

Operation Regional Mongoose, a high-visibility police operation to tackle serious property-related crime, continues to provide direct support to policing activities.

Moree Police have established a Community Safety Precinct Committee, to identify community safety issues, improve community awareness of the risks of crime and develop local crime prevention strategies.

“We are backing our young people in Moree and helping make the community safer,” Mr Minns said.

“By providing more after-hours activities, we are helping more young people stay on the right track.

“This kind of early intervention will help prevent crime and give young people more chances to succeed.”

Mayor Mark Johnson said the programs being developed are long-term.

“It’s early days, and these projects are longer-term, and as a long-term local I’m hoping to see the (troubled) youth of Moree make positive contributions to the town,” Mr Johnson said.

“The government has reconfirmed the $225 million investment in our Special Activation Precinct, and that will create 4000 jobs in the next 20 years, and we are going to need those young people. “Education, training, employment and these programs are going to help us achieve that.”

Mr Johnson said in a council media statement, the community was thankful for the State government’s on-going support and commitment.

“It’s great to see, after much community consultation, the NSW Government’s Moree-based initiatives coming to fruition,” Mr Johnson said.

“The after-hours activities announced, while being just one piece of a suite of future actions, will provide safer circumstances for our youth,” he said.

Moree Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO, Steve McIntosh, welcomed Premier Minns back to Moree.

“Since the NSW Government announced this response in March, we’ve seen new energy and focus on our community,” Mr Mcintosh said.

“The Moree Aboriginal Lands Council, Abcare, SHAE, Thiyama-Li Aboriginal Legal Services, Pius X, alongside our local Police, share the same vision, knowing the only way we can improve the lives of our young people, in a lasting way, is by empowering them and providing them with better opportunities,” he said.

Member for Northern Tablelands, Brendan Moylan, welcomed Premier Minns’ funding announcement.

Mr Moylan said the extra support, as well as other policy measures, will help reduce the spate of violent and anti-social behaviour in Moree, particularly committed by young people at night.

“We have already made some headway and hopefully can continue to turn the awful youth crime trend around,” Mr Moylan said.

“Earlier in the year, legislation passed parliament to toughen bail laws for young offenders, making it harder for repeat offenders to continue to be bailed by the local court.

“I thank the State Government for its commitment to Moree.”

Mr Moylan said a program to support small grants is also opening for small businesses, individuals, and organisations to provide after-hours and weekend activities for young people in the Moree Plains Shire.

“Applicants can apply for grant funding between $500 and $10,000,” Mr Moylan said.

For more information, visit: https://www.nsw.gov.au/grants-and-funding/moree-after-hours-activities-grants