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The news
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has walked back comments making light of a random stabbing attack in Melbourne’s CBD.
Crisafulli appeared at a News Corp event in Brisbane on Friday where he spoke about opportunities for the capital ahead of the 2032 Games.
Asked how he would attract interstate business, he said, unlike Melbourne, workers “won’t get stabbed – that’s a good start”.
Premier David Crisafulli admits he used a “poor choice of words” at Friday’s event.Credit: Jamila Filippone
But late on Friday, he issued a statement conceding it was a “poor choice of words … and I apologise for any distress”.
Why it matters
The apparently random stabbing on October 2, in which victim Wan Lai suffered a punctured lung, was captured on widely shared CCTV footage that only emerged this week.
CCTV footage shows the moment a woman allegedly stabbed 36-year-old Wan Lai in Melbourne’s CBD.
Accused attacker, 32-year-old Lauren Darul, who was on bail at the time, has been charged, while the attack has rendered Lai fearful and unable to work.
The incident has sparked calls from the Victorian Liberal opposition for the state to import Queensland’s broadened police search powers.
Crisafulli’s government campaigned heavily on the promises to address a “youth crime crisis” in the state amid several high-profile stabbings. It was forced to correct data this week that had exaggerated a drop in crime victim numbers.
Senior Queensland government figures have also repeatedly criticised their Victorian counterparts over issues from GST carve-ups to support for pill testing – for which Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie this week labelled them “commies”.
What they said
During a question-and-answer session at Friday’s event, Crisafulli was asked about attracting big business from interstate in preparation for the 2032 Olympics. He said there could be a financial incentive to bring workers north.
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“I’ll tell you another thing I can offer,” he continued. “If they live in Melbourne, they’ve got a place that’s dealing with youth crime [and] they won’t get stabbed – that’s a good start.
“And if they’re in Sydney, that’s a place that’s dealing with traffic congestion.
“We are focusing on dealing with transport, and that’s a point of difference for New South Wales. We are focusing on dealing with youth crime, and that’s a point of difference for Victoria.”
But in a statement issued later on Friday, Crisafulli walked back those comments.
“It was a poor choice of words because every victim matters, regardless of where they live, and I apologise for any distress,” he said.
“I’m fully aware of the realities of crime and knife crime in Queensland, which is why we are working every day to keep driving down victim numbers through initiatives such as Jack’s Law.
“No-one can guarantee there’ll be no crime, but that should never deter us from driving down victim numbers.”
Another perspective
Deputy Opposition Leader Cameron Dick, who was present at the event, said: “I was shocked by David Crisafulli’s attempt to use a stabbing as a punchline of a joke.”
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