Peter Dutton unloads on Queensland Premier Steven Miles as ‘not fit’ to lead after video emerged of him giggling at question about youth crime problem

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has criticized Steven Miles, insisting the Queensland Labor leader was ‘not fit for the job’ after the Prime Minister laughed off a question about the state’s youth crime crisis.

Miles has come under heavy fire after he was filmed giggling at a press conference after being asked if the state needed more police to respond to youth crime.

Asked about Tuesday’s response, Mr Dutton said Queenslanders are dealing with a serious crime that is endemic and needs a leader who can “stand up” and “provide support”.

“I think it’s one of the most emotional and serious issues in Queensland at the moment,” Mr Dutton told 2GB.

“And if the prime minister is initially unable to behave with decorum, dignity and respect, then he is not fit for the position.”

Facing a barrage of criticism, Miles said he was being misrepresented and branded claims he was making fun of youth crime as “disrespectful.”

“No one in Queensland, including myself, is laughing at this tragedy,” Miles wrote in an X post.

‘A family and a community is grieving. Sensational headlines and misrepresentations have no role to play in Queensland this week.”

Unconvinced, Dutton continued his attack on the Prime Minister, accusing him of making an excuse to cover his tracks.

Mr Miles started giggling when asked a question about Queensland’s youth crime and a summer marked by murders

“I think it has exacerbated his problem and what has now made his position untenable is that he has concocted this story where he wasn’t actually laughing about that,” Dutton said.

Earlier, Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said Queensland had a “bail problem” and a “judge problem” as he claimed the judiciary was “out of touch”.

The Queensland Police Union is calling for ankle bracelets and deportation to be considered among new powers to tackle the state’s worsening youth crime crisis.

“These latte-sipping judges living in wealthy inner-city suburbs of Brisbane have no connection with the average Queenslander,” Leavers said.

“So that’s a start. We must now hold them accountable. Bail is a privilege, not a right.”

He argued that an ankle bracelet was a fair trade-off because he was given the privilege of serving time in the community instead of behind bars.

Grandmother Vyleen White was reportedly fatally stabbed by five youths at an Ipswich shopping center on Saturday

Leavers further claimed that the rights of the perpetrator were too often prioritized over the victim, and criticized judges for halting media coverage of court cases to assuage perpetrators’ discomfort.

“I’m sorry, but what about a 70-year-old lady who was murdered while her six-year-old granddaughter was there? Where are her rights and those of the family?’ he said.

The uproar comes after Acting Magistrate Robert Turra blocked reporters from covering a hearing into the alleged murder of grandmother Vyleen White, arguing that the media’s presence in court could be “detrimental” to the 16-year-old boy accused of the crime.

The 70-year-old was reportedly stabbed to death at the Redbank Plains Shopping Center in Ipswich on Saturday.

Police have charged five children in connection with the alleged attack, including a 16-year-old boy from Bellbird Park who was charged with murder.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles agreed that magistrates had been overly cautious in preventing reporters from covering high-profile cases, suggesting this could undermine proper “control” of the judicial process.

“At the moment, magistrates are making too much of the mistake of not letting journalists in,” he said at the Queensland Media Club on Tuesday.

Mr Miles also proposed deportation of foreign visitors who had committed serious crimes and served their prison sentences.

‘You no longer have to coddle these people and tell them they have rights. Well, they lose their rights if they commit serious crimes,” he said.

“I know this is extreme, but we have real problems and we have to deal with a generation where we have problems. But I will say this: the police and the government cannot be the parents of every child in this state.

“We actually need our parents to do their job.”