Queensland’s bizarre plan to jail parents

The children had been left alone at the McDonalds for at least two hours before staff became worried about them and called the authorities. The manager said it was common for parents to dump their children at the food outlet’s play area then leave.

Here’s the issue. Under the proposed new criminal laws, which specify pubs, casinos and shopping centres, will it be an offence to leave your children at a food outlet while you go to the pub?

If not, then charging people who leave children at pubs, casinos or shopping centres will be inconsistent. The devil, as always, will be in the detail.

The law needs consistency and I expect early cases where parents are charged with leaving their children alone will be vigorously challenged in the courts.

Recent media reports stated there were 41,000 poker machines in Queensland, with about 16,000 problem gamblers in the state. The state government reportedly expects $550 million in taxes from pokie revenue this financial year.

More “in your face” measures are needed to confront parents who neglected their children. A more focused education campaign, funded from poker machine taxes, should be the first step.

There is an alarming trend in Queensland for prison to be used as a first resort solution to issues like this. It’s an extreme and very wrong move, and will be bad for everyone.

We are seeing a worrying new trend - Queensland law making is being driven by emotion, not logic.

There’s no evidence the state considered any other measures with its jailing parents idea, just this 19th century prison mindset that will hurt the children the very people it is ostensibly supposed to protect.