Social Media Bans and Youth Crime Reform: Littleproud Calls for Bold New Approaches to Public Safety
In a significant policy address from Coffs Harbour, Nationals leader David Littleproud has outlined a comprehensive vision for addressing both online safety concerns for minors and youth criminal rehabilitation. Speaking passionately about the need for stronger measures, Littleproud emphasized parental empowerment and alternative approaches to juvenile detention.
"This is about putting boundaries that parents can use. We should be helping parents, and that's about making sure that this ban on under-16s is about giving parents a tool to make sure that they're the ones that influence the outcome of their children, not a social media influencer," stated Littleproud during the news conference in New South Wales.
The Nationals leader highlighted the growing public safety concerns across regional communities, citing multiple break-ins and the perception that current youth justice approaches are ineffective. His proposed solutions focus on rehabilitation through skills development rather than traditional detention methods, which he claims are producing "better criminals" rather than reformed citizens.
"We've hit a tipping point where the civil rights of an individual needs to be put aside for the civil rights of the community. When a community don't feel safe, you've got to make sure that you act," Littleproud explained, advocating for a fundamental shift in how society approaches juvenile crime and rehabilitation.
The press conference also included funding announcements for critical infrastructure, with Bellinger Shire Mayor Steve Allen briefly discussing Phase 3 of coastal sewerage works before the broadcast concluded. This infrastructure project represents "the largest and most important project" for the local council, designed to benefit the region for at least the next 50 years, according to Mayor Allen.
"What we need to do is give them a purpose in life and a worth. Know that they are valued, that they can contribute to our society because we're going to invest in their skills and take them away and put them in an environment where they can be a better human being," Littleproud emphasized when discussing youth rehabilitation programs.
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