Anti-violence motto spreads

The Easts Leagues Foundation Community Benefit Fund last month handed a $21,175 grant to the Matthew Stanley Foundation to provide a professional media presentation that will be shown at foundation information sessions at public and private schools, community groups and community events.
Matthew Stanley, 15, was punched and killed outside a teenage party at Alexandra Hills in late 2006. Since that tragic incident, Mr Stanley, of Thornlands, has campaigned tirelessly in a bid to keep his son’s memory alive and to teach people that one punch can kill.
Matthew Stanley Foundation representative Katey Comino said the community was impressed with the Matthew Stanley Foundation’s youth safety initiatives.

 “The foundation lives its message with its volunteer youth members organising awareness events, delivering many sessions and contributing to youth forums,” she said.

 “The foundation has participated in the Queensland Government’s Youth Violence Taskforce and has given significant energy to the Queensland Police Party Safe program.

 “Funds from the Easts Leagues Foundation Community Benefit Fund will be devoted to establishing a professionally created media presentation and DVD program that will extend the foundation’s reach and potential to impact throughout Queensland and interstate.”

 Matthew Stanley’s father Paul said the significant contribution was “absolutely fantastic”.

“It’s great support from the club and it will allow us to promote the foundation’s message,” he said.

 “I want to acknowledge the Easts Leagues Club and every member of the club as a contributor, not only in community safety right now but in the young people that will guide our future.”

 Information on the foundation and the work of it volunteers can be found at www.matthewstanleyfound ation.com.au

By Luise Hoffmann

Sometimes it takes an immensely brave individual to seek the silver lining in the darkest, bleakest cloud, but that’s what Paul Stanley is trying to do after the tragic death of his 15-year-old son, Matthew.

Matt died last September, after being savagely, senselessly beaten while attending an 18th birthday party in Alexandra Hills. Paul is still grief stricken by his son’s death, but is determined to honour Matt’s memory by doing everything he can to prevent other youth violence.

“He just gave a happiness out of himself and everyone just loved him,” Paul says of Matt. “He was an incredible kid, a great sportsman, did very well academically and just a real nice boy.

“He wound me around his little finger, I can tell you that.”

On the night he was beaten, Matt went along to a party with his friend Dominic. Paul had no concerns about the event. “It was all his friends who were going, everyone was invited. The parents were going to be there for the party itself, it was going to be supervised and I guess you don’t really think that anything’s going to happen when there’s a whole bunch of friends together.”

After a family dinner, Paul, Matt’s mum Kay and brother Nick dropped Matt off at Dominic’s place. “We waved goodbye to him as he walked up to the house and hopped in the car with Dominic and his parents and we drove home.”

Then the most ordinary suburban evening turned into a nightmare. “Nick was on the computer, I was watching the TV and I think Kay went to bed, and the next thing – we got a phone call and Nick yelled out and said, ‘It’s Charlie on the phone for you’,” Paul remembers.

“Charlie, who’s a friend of ours, said, ‘Paul, you’d better come quickly, Matthew’s been assaulted, he’s lying in a pool of blood on the road, the ambulance is on the way, the police are here and it’s really, really bad.’

“So we jumped in the car and took off, and when we got there, Matthew was lying on the road in a pool of blood. It was horrible.”

When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics rushed Matt the Redlands hospital. “I stayed in the ambulance with him,” says Paul.

“You could just tell that things were really, really bad. The first ambo who got to him shone a light into his eyes and said, ‘Oh my god,’ and I said, ‘Look, I’m his dad,’ and he said, ‘Your boy is very, very sick.’

“There were more doctors and nurses there than I even thought was in the hospital, and they said, ‘We’ve got to take him to the PA’.”

Matt’s family beat the ambulance to the Princess Alexandra hospital – the ambulance drove steadily because of Matt’s extreme injuries. When they arrived, the family faced an interminable

By Rebecca Perry

Among the thousands of plaques in Mount Cotton’s Garden of Remembrance is a touch football.

Anywhere else, it would symbolise youthful noise and vitality, but here there are no games. The football is just a message board where teenagers come to mourn a mate.

This quiet resting place of 15-year-old Matthew Stanley is a grim reality of violent behaviour. The youngster died in September last year after being bashed outside a party in Brisbane’s bayside, leaving his devastated family and friends still struggling to cope with losing a life so young.

His father Paul remembers seeing fights while growing up himself, but fears times have changed.

‘There is so much violence in the media that kids get the wrong impression of what actually happens when you hit someone. In the movies, the actors always bounce back so they think it’s ok,’ Mr Stanley said.

‘Boys think they are invincible.’

Research shows young men aged between 15 and 19 make up the single highest category of offenders against other people in Queensland, and are most likely to be victims of crime.

According to Griffith University criminologist Professor Paul Mazerolle, males are ‘substantially and consistently’ more violent than females, and the mix of mates and alcohol places them ‘… in an explosive context.’

Today, statistics have a face – young and bloodied as their brawls are broadcast through websites such as YouTube, and worldwide audiences gain a ringside seat in record numbers. The so-called ‘happy slapping’ trend of filming assaults with mobile telephones began in London, and is now a major concern for Australian educators as students take up the dangerous craze.

What viewers rarely see is the real and lasting impact of violence, which is why Mr Stanley established the Matthew Stanley Foundation in his son’s honour and is sharing his heartbreaking lessons in life with Brisbane students.

‘We have been going to talk to kids at different schools about violence, what can happen in a fight and how to organise safe parties, and we have been making a difference in our area by promoting the Party Safe initiative with the police,’ he said.

While most serious acts of violence occur outside school hours, all schooling sectors are conscious of the need to address the matter.

Education Queensland is helping keep schoolyards safe and setting high standards for acceptable student behaviour.

The $3 million Better Behaviour Better Learning initiative was launched last year to help state schools provide safer learning environments through policies, resources and a host of professional development opportunities.

The program focuses on positive behaviour and responsibility, and is enforced by schools through the Code of School Behaviour and a Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students.

Students are also learning the consequences of their actions through the Restorative Practices program, which brings participants together to discuss issues, heal relationships and acknowledge the consequences of behaviour.

Director Ray Ashford says the Department is a leader in promoting Australia-wide programs such as the National Safe Schools Framework, and the Bullying. No Way! website, which it manages on behalf of all states and non-state schools, to give teachers tools to reduce bullying, harassment and violence.

School Based Police Officers and the Adopt A Cop program are further resources provided to schools. These initiatives improve links to the broader school community, promote stronger relationships and aim to improve behaviour and responsible community attitudes.
Schools in youth forum

A Youth Violence Taskforce has been established to examine violence among young people.

A youth forum for more than 100 South-East Queensland students from state and non-state schools on July 17 will allow the Taskforce to discuss with students issues of violence, seek feedback on community education materials and raise preliminary findings.

High schools including Wynnum North, Sunnybank and Loganlea have nominated for the event, which will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Queensland Police – Party-Safe Program
www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/situationalAdvice/partySafe.htm
Matthew Stanley Foundation
www.matthewstanleyfoundation.com.au
Bullying. No Way!
www.bullyingnoway.com.au

Ban on parents supplying grog – Youth taskforce plan follows teenager’s party death

By: EDMUND BURKE and DAVID MURRAY

PARENTS caught supplying their underage children with alcohol face prosecution under proposals backed by Police Minister Judy Spence. The clampdown is among a string of recommendations the State Government’s youth taskforce will make this month to a review of the Liquor Act.

The taskforce was established in November after the violent death of Brisbane teenager Matt Stanley, 15, at an Alexandra Hills birthday party.

The teen’s father, Paul Stanley, who is on the taskforce, yesterday said parents needed to learn that supplying alcohol to their children was wrong. “What we have seen is that there is a trend out there for parents to buy alcohol for their children somehow believing that if they buy it for them they won’t get `smashed’,” he said. “But the research is telling us that this is rubbish. We want to see a situation where parents are not dropping their 15-year-olds off at parties with crates of beer. It is happening and it is irresponsible and it is wrong.” A youth, 16, has been charged with murdering Matt Stanley at an 18th birthday party on September 23.

The taskforce, set up with the support of The Sunday Mail, will recommend strict penalties for parents who supply alcohol to their underage children for parties or events such as Schoolies.Under present laws, it is illegal for an adult to supply alcohol to anyone under 18 but supply by parents is a legal grey area, with police turning a blind eye to the problem. A spokeswoman for Ms Spence said the range of penalties to be imposed against parents was still under consideration. A Federal Government report released this year showed 37 per cent of youths aged 12 to 17 said their parents had given them their most recent rink. Gold Coast police officers say it is common for schoolies to be supplied with liquor by their parents. “When they book in, you can see the number of parents who are supplying alcohol to their kids,” a policeman who worked the Cavill Mall precinct said yesterday.

Ms Spence supported the plans to clarify the law and attacked irresponsible parent. “Parents, adult supervisors and retailers need to know it is unacceptable to provide alcohol to under-age drinkers,” Ms Spence said. “Many young people experiment with alcohol and drugs and it is important they are continually reminded of the risks and the penalties.” Secondary supply of alcohol and internet sales of alcohol are expected to be targeted by the crackdown. “Parents who allow their children to drink moderately at home will not be singled out,” Ms Spence’s spokeswoman said. “But the recommendations will concentrate on stopping parents supplying alcohol to teenagers for parties, Schoolies and other events.”

Griffith University criminologist Prof Paul Mazerolle, who is also a member of the taskforce, said research had shown that parental assumptions that it was safer to introduce their own children to alcohol were not correct. “It is a flawed assumption and parents probably should be concentrating more on teaching their children about the negative consequences of alcohol,” he said. “We have got a problem with binge drinking in Australia and one of the consequences of that is the terrible violence we are seeing among young people.”

The recommendations will be made to the Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development’s Liquor Act review, which is looking at ways to modernise Queensland’s 1992 Liquor Act. Last week a survey revealed alcohol is to blame for more than a quarter of all deaths among young people in the developed world.

The Deakin University study, published in the international medical journal The Lancet, found liquor caused 27 per cent of deaths in Australia in 2002 involving 15 to 29-year-olds.

This was the paper’s Editorial in response to the previous story:

Parents on notice

ALCOHOL takes a terrible toll on the young. A new study reveals that alcohol-related disease, accidents, violence and suicide account for one in four deaths of Australians aged 15 to 29. The evidence is all about us that young people are drinking earlier, drinking more and suffering the consequences. The pain is shared by their families and innocents who cross their paths or share the roads with them.

It is intolerable that a significant number of these drinkers are of an age when, traditionally, we would expect parents to exert more control. Most parents do fulfil their responsibilities, leading by example and encouraging a responsible attitude towards drinking. However, an inordinate number have abrogated their responsibilities, turning a blind eye to the foolish excesses of their children and even helping them find their way around the drinking laws. Notoriously, there is ample evidence of parents supplying copious amounts of alcohol for Schoolies, our most high-profile frenzy of underage drinking.

Proposed changes to the Liquor Act to prohibit the supply of alcohol to minors by parents would be a powerful weapon in the hands of police as they confront the consequences of feral parenting. The youth violence taskforce proposal realistically would not impact on parents who might want to encourage responsible, supervised and discerning social drinking in the home. However, it would rein in those who stupidly aid and abet their children in what is an illegal and highly risky activity.

This proposal and a plan to increasingly monitor alcohol promotions are worthwhile initiatives that should be implemented as a matter of urgency. Along with a program to examine the use of knives and other weapons by young people — often while inflamed with alcohol — they are a demonstration that the taskforce is more than a gabfest and has much to offer in tackling the problems of youth.

Ms Bligh was responding to the final report of the Youth Violence Taskforce. 

The report details a comprehensive list of recommendations aimed at reducing the prevalence of youth violence in Queensland.

 “Overwhelmingly Queensland parents are responsible for monitoring their teenagers,” Ms Bligh said. 

“However those parents and other adults who recklessly provide kids with excessive amounts of alcohol and then fail to supervise them will face stiff penalties. 

“Until now the Government has focused on the strict regulation of liquor at the point of sale – now we are proposing to take that a step further and ensure that it’s no longer acceptable for minors to rely on adults to purchase their drinks for them. 

“There is a need to legislate in relation to secondary supply to send a clear message to parents, older friends and siblings about the inherent risks of supplying alcohol to minors.” 

Ms Bligh said the proposed new laws will be part of broader changes to the Liquor Act  to be introduced next year. 

She said in response to the recommendations of the Taskforce the Government would also undertake an advertising campaign over the Christmas/New Year period to highlight the fact that ‘one punch can kill’,” she said. 

“The key messages will be – don’t drink to excess, remember one punch can kill, be brave – walk away and look after your mates.

 “If young people can take all these messages on board, we believe we can ensure a safer party environment for all.” 

Ms Bligh said Government would consider all the recommendations of the Taskforce and formulate a multi-agency response.

 “Youth Violence is an issue that affects every Queenslander and one this Government is committed to addressing,” Ms Bligh said.

 “For the past 12 months, the Youth Violence Taskforce has worked cooperatively with representatives from across the Queensland community, to produce a list of practical and achievable recommendations on how to combat the violence that is ruining young lives,” Ms Bligh said.

 “The Taskforce held a number of youth forums around Queensland and listened to young people about their views on the problem of youth violence and their ideas for solutions.

 “The Taskforce has considered over 70 public submissions including those from the general public, Government and non-Government organisations and extensive literature and websites from Australia and around the world.

 “These recommendations are the first steps towards addressing the prevalence of youth violence and I am confident they will assist in the protection of our young people in the future.

 “I would like to thank the Taskforce for their work, on what are some very complicated issues.

 ”I would especially like to thank Paul Stanley for making such a valuable contribution during this difficult time for his family.”

 Ms Spence said it comes as no surprise that the Youth Violence Taskforce has observed strong links between alcohol consumption and youth violence.

 “This is an area the whole community needs to unite on – to send the message enough is enough, so we don’t allow our young people to become just another statistic – arrested, charged or killed,” Ms Spence said.

 Ms Spence said the Taskforce’s recommendations, are aimed at addressing the need for further education and community responsibility around youth violence.

 “It is a disturbing fact that young people between 15 and 19 years of age are the most likely group to be the victims of violence, and are also the most likely perpetrators,” Ms Spence said.

 “In its efforts to address this alarming statistic, we have compiled recommendations regarding alcohol consumption and supply among youth and have already provided these recommendations to the Liquor Act Review for consideration.

 “Other recommendations are aimed at improving community education among young people and adults, on the reality of youth violence and its consequences”

 Paul Stanley, member of the Taskforce and the father of 15-year-old Matthew Stanley who died in September last year after an assault outside a party at Alexandra Hills said it was pleasing to see a positive outcome out of Matthew’s death.

 “The creation of the Youth Violence Taskforce has increased community awareness and ownership of the issue and in conjunction with Government we can make a difference” Mr Stanley said.

 ”It’s great to see that after 12 months of hard work, the Youth Violence Taskforce has been able to put forward a report to the Queensland Government,” Mr Stanley said.

 Key recommendations from the Youth Violence Task Force include:

Recommendation 1

Queensland Government revisit the current legislative environment in relation to the secondary supply of alcohol to young people by adults, particularly their parents and that the government legislate to prohibit the supply of alcohol to minors in such quantity or circumstances where harm or a high risk of harm to a minor may eventuate.

Recommendation 2

Queensland Government fund and deliver a highly visible community education and social marketing campaign over the next 5 – 10 years, specifically targeting young people and their parents in purpose built and wide ranging flexible delivery formats, with a view to creating and maintaining a safe drinking culture.

 Recommendation 3

Sources for revenue to deliver education campaigns are investigated including from the liquor and hospitality industry.

Recommendation 4

Community based education programs should be funded for delivery across Queensland communities with a view to engaging youth, particularly school leavers, in the impact and effect of high risk drinking practices, including the dangers of high alcohol volume products.

Recommendation 5

Government support an anti-violence advertising campaign focused on highlighting the consequences of violence and the choices available to manage conflict without violence, and targeted specifically at Generation Y audience (ages 12-27) through emerging communication mediums.

Recommendation 6

The Queensland Police Service in consultation with the Department of Education, Training and the Arts utilise School Based Police Officers and QPS Operational Skills Training Officers to develop and trial for Secondary school students an educational program related to the recognition of warning signs, use of verbal communication skills and avoidance options to diffuse potentially dangerous and violent situations.

Recommendation 7

The extension and ongoing promotion of the Queensland Police Service Party Safe initiative to raise awareness of safer party practices.

Recommendation 8

The Department of Education, Training and the Arts investigate a range of social and emotional learning packages with a view to having all Queensland State schools deliver a package from prep through to year 12 to encourage positive behaviour and social skills in children and young people.

Recommendation 9

Government support the Department of Education, Training and the Arts School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) approach to building responsible student behaviour.

 Recommendation 10

Government support the Department of Education, Training and the Arts’ Act Smart Be Safe website campaign to provide information and proactive strategies to schools, students and parents to assist with addressing issues of youth violence.

Recommendation 11

The 2009 Crime Stoppers Youth Challenge Queensland target youth violence prevention.

Recommendation 12

Queensland Government research, design and develop a holistic framework for identifying, targeting and reducing risky behaviour and promoting positive support systems and messages about youth. 

Recommendation 13

A youth engagement strategy that supports a series of Youth Forums for young people aged 15 – 17 yrs on issues affecting youth to inform Government of current trends and changes in youth culture and encourage empowerment, ownership and responsibility of young people.

Recommendation 14

Government supports the further expansion of the ‘Coordinated Response to Young People At Risk’ (CRYPAR) program, the Triple P initiative and the Safe Youth – Safe Communities initiative to provide early intervention and support for ‘at risk’ youth and families in crisis.

Recommendation 15

Government give further consideration of evidence based strategies for multiple risk children and youth.

Recommendation 16

Establishment of an ongoing Ministerial Advisory Committee on Youth Violence to advise Government on emerging youth trends and culture issues in relation to violence.

 The Taskforce Report and recommendations are available on www.police.qld.gov.au

 28 November, 2007
Further inquiries:       Premiers Office                     (07) 3224 4500

                                    Nicola Hazell              (07) 3239 6172

YOUTH VIOLENCE TASKFORCE MEMBERSHIP

 ·         Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport, Ms Judy Spence MP (Chair). 

·         Minister for Communities, Disability Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Multicultural Affairs, Seniors and Youth, Ms Lindy Nelson-Carr MP (Deputy Chair).

·          Commissioner of Police, Mr Bob Atkinson APM.

·          Mr Nathan Appo, First Contact.

·          Dr William Bor, Director, Kids in Mind Research: Mater Centre for Service Research in Mental Health.

·          Mr Adam Barnes, Youth and Family Support.

·          Ms Jonty Bush, CEO, Homicide Victims Support Group.

·         Mr Kevin Charlesworth, Vice-President, Queensland Council of Parents and Citizens Association.

·          Ms Leanne Clare SC, Director of Public Prosecutions.

·          Mr Neville Coventry, Co-Visions Australia.

·         Ms Jenny Cranston, Deputy Director General, Education, Department of Education, Training and the Arts.

·          Ms Corelle Davies, Child Safety Director, Queensland Health.

·          Dr Rebecca Denning, Manager, Criminal Justice Research, Department of Premier and Cabinet.

·          Mr Siyavash Doostkhah, Director, Youth Affairs Network of Qld (YANQ).

·          Ms Faiza El-Higzi, President of the Al-Nisa’ Youth Group Inc.

·          Mr Tagipo Faanana, Pacific Islander Community Elder.

·          Ms Jayde Fuller, Youth Justice and former president Queensland Youth Council.

·          Mr Mark Gladman, Chaplain at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre.

·          Mr Steve Maguire, Executive Director, Multicultural Affairs.

·          Professor Paul Mazerolle, Professor of Criminology, Griffith University and Director of the Griffith University Violence Research Program.

·         Ms Jane Moynihan, Director, Law and Justice Policy, Department of Premier and Cabinet.

·         Pastor Andrew Oyet, Baptist Pastor and President of seven African churches, who works closely with Sudanese youth.

·          Mr Steve Renouf, Ambassador for Indigenous Sport, DLGPSR.

·          Mr Terry Ryan, Director, Strategic Policy, Justice and Attorney-General.

·          Ms Tala Schultz, Pacific Islander Representative.

·          Mr Paul Stanley, Matthew Stanley Foundation.

·          Mr Matthew Swift, Operations Manager, YMCA Brisbane.

·          Mr Michael Tansky, Director, Office for Youth, Department of Communities.

·         Mr Tuan Tran, Assistant President of the Queensland Vietnamese Community Association.

·         Ms Patrea Walton, Assistant Director General, Student Services, Department of Education, Training and the Arts.

·          Mr Chris Watters, Executive Director, Liquor Licensing, DTFTWID

·          Mr Phil Weightman MP, Member for Cleveland.

 http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=55386 (YVT recommendations release)

EFFORTS to curb youth violence are gaining momentum following the launch of the Matthew Stanley Foundation at the weekend.
More than 1000 people converged on Thorneside’s Mooroondu sporting grounds on Saturday night to show their support for the foundation, which aims to teach young people how to be safe.
Matt, a 15-year-old sporting enthusiast, died after suffering injuries outside a party at Alexandra Hills two months ago and a 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder over the incident.
Matt’s sporting team-mates took to the field on Saturday to play soccer and touch football games in memory of the popular Redlands College student who they remembered as an “absolute true sportsman”.
The event raised nearly $5000 through the sale of arm bands, raffle tickets, sausages, drinks, snow cones and glow sticks, with local businesses donating various goods to support the foundation.
One teenage boy who did not know Matt came along to give people spray-on tattoos, raising hundreds of dollars for the foundation.
Matt’s father Paul Stanley — who has previously spoken of the need for cultural change to prevent youth violence — thanked people for their support.
The foundation will focus on teaching young people about safety and how to prevent themselves from falling into dangerous situations.
The approach may include school visits by young people who can relate to their peers.
Mooroondu Soccer Club coach Paul Branagan told the crowd it was important not to forget Matt, who he described as “the man”.
“The idea that anybody’s ever going to forget Matt is nonsense,” he said.
Police Minister Judy Spence has called for Queenslanders to make suggestions on how to improve safety via the youth violence taskforce link at www.police.qld.gov.au

Gatecrash