I live in a small Heritage City on the east coast of Queensland. When we moved here, twelve years ago, the town was welcoming and a country backwater.

Today it is in overload from people moving here from Sydney and Melbourne. When Covid hit they decided to leave their busy cities for the quiet life here. Queensland has much to offer strangers. Now we are in trouble because of the lack of homes and our folks are camping out or couch-surfing. This is dreadful because the Real Estate decided to put the rents up so high, our people couldn't afford it. However, the southerner's could. Having paid huge rent in their own cities. Currently, a three bedroom rental costs around $500 per week here.

Tourists flock here from all over the world. We are the Whale Watching capital of Australia. Our climate attracts people from cold countries because our winters are very mild.

With the influx of 30,000 people from the South, Queensland is in big trouble. Majority of us are coastal dwellers.

Their children/teenagers (and ours too) have run amok. Stealing cars, threatening elderly with knives and machetes. Of course they are after money for drugs. Bashings of elderly is despicable to say the least.

One night two teenagers scaled my fence and entered my backyard. They were both drunk and laughing. My neighbor had already called the police. The kids didn't laugh when my beautiful dog bailed them up against the back fence, they tried to climb it, made it, straight into the arms of the waiting police.

Last Sunday night there was a horrific smash and three women were killed. The fourth woman is still fighting for life in our hospital.

A thirteen-year old boy and his mate stole a Mercedes Benz around eight that night. Around 10.45 pm he struck one car at speed; in turn it hit the other car. He only received cuts to his ankle.

One killed was a nurse coming home from her shift at the hospital. Another girl was only seventeen. The third woman killed was coming home with her family from a church service. The fourth is fighting for life but is now stable.

The thirteen-year old boy has been charged on many counts, including murder. The Government. doesn't have the answers. Residents are getting angry over their cars being stolen and the many break-ins, some in broad daylight. Our police force has been increased but they can't be everywhere at once.

In my lifetime I have never seen such mayhem, the kids don't care and are not afraid of police. All we can do is lock up, keep our animals inside; lately teens have been stealing cats! I can imagine what they do with them. Sentencing for these children is lax. The Government. have tossed ideas around but nothing has changed.

In my teens we were called the 'Lucky Country' now I would call it the out of control mayhem country.