WHILE crime continues to terrorise North Queensland towns and cities, calls for action have continued to escalate, with a recent push for residents' rights to take the protection of person and property into their own hands.
Member for Hinchinbrook Nick Dametto has called on the Queensland Government to consider galvanising the legal protections for Queenslanders under the adoption of the 'Castle Doctrine' - which legalises physical defence against intruders inside their home or premises.
The law, which was originally passed by the English in 1604, has been adopted by a number of states across America and is the newest policy to be adopted by the Katter Australian Party as part of its crime strategy.
For rural residents, Mr Dametto said the delay in immediate police response due to remoteness could also put more risk on those facing an intruder, with less time to react to a potentially dangerous invasion.
"The break and enters are still happening, people are waking to their cars stolen and armed robberies continue to occur," the KAP deputy said.
"Queenslanders don't feel safe walking to their car, going out in public and worse they don't feel safe in their own homes.
"One of the scariest things imaginable is being confronted in your own home by an intruder, for most of us it's the feeling of being powerless in a situation like this that petrifies us."
Mr Dametto said current national laws do little to protect the victim when they are faced with protecting themselves, their loved ones or property during a home invasion.
"West Australian laws have been sighted as the best home defence laws in the country but in my opinion don't go far enough to protect the victim when they need the law most," he said.
"In Queensland if you were to defend yourself during a home invasion you must only use like-for-like force. Failure to do so may result in criminal charges that range from an assault through to murder.
"Most people are saying 'not only are we worried about the increase in crime but also the frequency of violent crime'. There seems to be a feeling that Queenslanders aren't protected by the law when it comes to perpetrators. The victims are left behind.
"(Castle Law) is an instrumental step forward and a good signal by the government or the opposition to say 'we're on your side'."
The current Youth Justice Act contains 21 principles in the charter of youth justice guiding principles, 19 of which Mr Dametto said "relate to how best to protect the perpetrator".
"I am often asked - 'Why don't we have Castle Law?' To me, this is a very good question and one that should be at some stage put to the Queensland Parliament. I believe everyone should have the right to defend themselves inside their own home or premises," he said.
"The Castle Doctrine, is a principle grounded in the fundamental right to self-defence and could actually serve as a deterrent to those criminals who know the laws and know that to an extent they are protected by the legislation."
Mr Dametto emphasised that being able to defend yourself inside your own home was not promoting vigilantism or encouraging unnecessary violence.
"In a split-second decision it can be either fight or flight, and when flight is not an option the consequences of their fight response should be protected by legislation, but currently there are gaping holes in that," he said.
"You have a split second to make a decision, it could be dark or the middle of the night and the last thing you should be thinking about is how big their bat is...(or) after the event you shouldn't be wondering 'oh my god, am I faced with assault, manslaughter or worse, murder?'
"Your first call should be 000 not your lawyer.
"The latest (incident) in the news was...two perpetrators came in with an axe to attack a 60-year-old man who defended himself with a knife. There's still a live investigation. He shouldn't even be going through the process, he had half his arm chopped off by the intruders."
Mr Dametto said Queenslanders had lobbied his party to adopt the Castle Doctrine as a policy and now the party is taking the cause to state parliament this week to garner support from other Queensland parties to adopt the policy.
"We intend to apply maximum pressure on both sides of parliament," he said.
"Your home should be your sanctuary and if someone intrudes or breaks into your sanctuary, you should have the right to do what's necessary to protect your property, family or yourself."
