The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (21:22): The Government is trying to spin the latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research statistics as a success story. Yes, some property offences are down in regional New South Wales. But let us be clear, statistics do not tell the full story. The Minns Labor Government's bail amendments were meant to be a circuit breaker for youth crime in the regions. The truth is they have failed and, in failing, they have also set up regional communities to fail. People living in a regional town do not feel safer just because a graph is pointing in the right direction. Communities are still dealing with assaults, break-ins and antisocial behaviour. While the Government is talking tough, people on the ground know that very little has changed.

The uncomfortable truth is that children are churning in and out of Youth Justice centres. In the last financial year alone, 3,456 receptions of children into custody were recorded. That is not 3,456 individual children—many were the same young people cycling in and out. But here is the shocking reality: 3,437 of those receptions were unsentenced children held on remand. Only 19 of them were sentenced. Many of those children spent just a handful of days in custody before being released. At a cost of $2,814 per child per day, this system drains hundreds of millions of dollars annually yet fails to deliver safer communities. That constant churn does not reduce crime; it entrenches it. It exposes vulnerable young people to hardened offenders and does nothing to divert them from a lifetime in and out of the justice system. The Government promised a bail accommodation and support service in Moree, a place where young people could be supervised, supported and given a chance to break the cycle. However, 18 months later in budget estimates we heard that it still does not exist. The Attorney General passed the buck to the Premier. The Premier pointed to another Minister. Meanwhile, regional families are left to live with the consequences and that service has still not been delivered.

In the meantime, tragedy has struck. Who knows whether the outcome would have been different if the bail accommodation service had been in place as promised? What we do know is the Government has failed to deliver on its word and communities are paying the price. The punitive system costs hundreds of millions each year, yet it fails on every measure—young lives are being wasted, reoffending is rising and regional communities are no safer. Instead of investing in proven diversion programs like BackTrack, the Government cuts them. All the while, thousands of children churn in and out of remand. Instead of building trust, it hides behind rhetoric and delays. This Government is more interested in political spin than delivering community safety. It is time to start investing in programs that actually work, programs that support families, keep kids in school and make regional towns safer. I care deeply about the safety of these communities. Parents in towns like Moree, Bourke and Kempsey deserve to feel safe in their homes and on their streets. Victims deserve justice.

I also care about the children who are caught in this broken system. Locking them up for nine days at a time does not change behaviour; it entrenches it. At nearly $3,000 a day, it is one of the most expensive policy failures this Government has delivered. The Government is also reviewing doli incapax, which is the presumption that children under 14 cannot be held criminally responsible unless proven otherwise. But a review is not a solution. Regional communities need action now. They need alternatives to detention that hold young people accountable in ways that change behaviour. Regional communities do not need more press releases and talking points. They need real investment in early intervention, diversion and family support. They need bail accommodation, mentoring, education pathways and mental health services. That is how you break the cycle of crime and keep people safe.

Crime is not solved by spin. It is solved by policies that address the causes of offending and give communities confidence that government is on their side. Until this Government stops congratulating itself and starts delivering on its promises, regional families will continue to feel unsafe, police will remain overstretched and too many children will be condemned to a life of crime instead of given the chance of a better future.

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