MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan has demanded NSW Premier Chris Minns return to Moree to hear from the community regarding the ongoing youth crime crisis.
It has been almost 12 months since the Moree Pilot Program was implemented and there are real concerns within the community that the program is not working, Mr Moylan said.
He said the Moree community is sick and tired of living in fear and it is time for the premier to come back to the town to listen to concerns.
“Premier Minns needs to be on the ground to hear first-hand from the victims of crime and tell us what the $13.4 million pilot program has achieved,” he said.
“From those of us on the ground, we can’t see any improvements.
“Both the community and police need to know why this is the case.”
The $13.4 million program was announced in March, 2024 as part of a $26.2 million package for reforms and initiatives to support community safety and wellbeing.
Mr Moylan reiterated concerns raised in a joint media statement with Member for Tamworth, Kevin Anderson on Tuesday, following the death of a motorcyclist at Gunnedah after being hit by a vehicle allegedly stolen from Moree.
Three youths faced children’s court today, charged with numerous offences.
“One death is one too many and this should be a clear turning point for the Government to recognise it needs to step up,” Mr Moylan said.
“Too often we see repeat offenders or people out on bail committing these crimes and we can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
“It’s been almost a year since the Premier announced the Moree pilot program and we haven’t seen any tangible change on the ground.
“People are still scared and fed up and we need to urgently know exactly what progress has been made to stop these types of incidents from ever happening again.”
my elderly widowed friend has had her house broken into twice, the second time her car was stolen and the people involved went to a second lot of elderly folk and bashed the husband. My friend has now had a tall fence erected because she is living in fear. For heaven’s sake, please do something about it. I have never submitted anything like this before. Perhaps a lot of people are angry, and rightly so.