Secure Our Border: Protect our vulnerable community. Request for Infrastructure Funding and Police Protection for Wallangarra & Jennings.

The Problem:
Wallangarra and Jennings are being left behind. Our community features an aging population with high care needs and we are being targeted by a severe regional crime wave. Border-towns like ours are frequently targeted currently and historically. In the month of July, official QPS data shows our tiny town suffers 4x more break-ins and car thefts per capita than Stanthorpe, alongside a massive 27.3% regional surge in drug offenses.

Our community are entirely isolated. With zero local recreational facilities and a low median household income, teenagers face structural boredom. Following a recent surge in crime allegedly caused by disengaged youth, a youth meeting revealed that 73% of attendees desperately want a local youth hub, and families face an impossible 80km transport bottleneck to access youth mental health services in Warwick.

This petition serves as a formal community consultation. Its purpose is to highlight the lack of essential infrastructure for families in our area and the very real impact of allowing the needs of our broader community to be ignored.

We pay our taxes and rates, yet the overwhelming majority of community grants and council budget allocations continue to flow into Stanthorpe and Warwick, leaving our own community without the support, services, and investment it deserves.

It is also important to address a common misconception about local crime. Only a percentage of incidents are linked to youth living in Wallangarra and Jennings. The majority of criminal activity affecting our area is carried out by crews travelling from larger surrounding regions. Our community should not be unfairly blamed for issues largely driven by external groups, nor should local young people be used as a justification for withholding infrastructure and investment.

Most importantly, the infrastructure we are calling for will benefit all residents — not only young families. Improved community spaces, safer pathways, accessible facilities, and local services support our retirees and older community members by making it easier to stay active, connected, and independent. These investments strengthen the well-being of every generation and ensure our town remains a place where people can live comfortably throughout all stages of life.

What We Are Demanding:

We call on the Southern Downs Regional Council, the Queensland Police Service, and the Federal Department of Defence (as a major local landowner) to urgently collaborate and deliver:

• A Static Policing Asset: A permanent or high-frequency QPS Mobile Police Beat to deter cross-border criminals.
• Recreational Infrastructure: Capital funding for a local Wallangarra recreational hub.
• Community Mentorship & Life Skills: Formally funded programs run in partnership with the WJPA, Men's Shed, CWA, and local military assets. 
• Mobile Health Outreach: Regular, physical visits from Headspace and Child & Youth Mental Health Services (CYMHS).
   

Requests for Action: Cross-Border Synergy

• Unified Cross-Border Policing Operations: Petition QPS Darling Downs District and the NSW New England Police District to execute joint, high-frequency operations utilising Mobile Police Beats on the border link to disrupt property crime transit.
• Joint Council Funding via BROC: Demand that the Southern Downs Regional Council and Tenterfield Shire Council utilise the Border Region Organisation of Councils framework to co-fund a singular, unified Cross-Border Recreation Hub.
• Formally request QLD Commissioner Bob Gee and the NSW Cross-Border Commissioner to override departmental red tape, securing mobile health outreach (Headspace/CYMHS) that is legally permitted to service youth from both sides of the border locally.

Sign this petition to demand regional equity and safety for Wallangarra and Jennings.