Cherbourg is set to become host to a new “prevention point” for youth crime in 2026, with council greenlighting the construction of a $1 million grant-funded youth hub on Collins Road.
The Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council voted unanimously at its 15 and 16 October meetings to endorse Brisbane-based Indigenous support agency Murri Watch’s plans for a youth hub in town.
Council claimed in its meeting the hub would be funded by a $1m grant given to Murri Watch – later stated by Cherbourg mayor Bruce Simpson as having originated from the Paul Ramsay Foundation, one of Australia’s largest philanthropic enterprises.
A report before council billed the proposed centre as being able to provide “seamless services for young people presenting in need and seeking coordinated services.”
The hub’s staff – which would count representatives of the Cherbourg Youth Advisory Group and council’s community services team among its members – would work together with the local state school and families to tackle at-risk youth before they can commit a crime.
“We won’t be taking away people’s parenting – we’ll be enhancing [it],” Cherbourg’s mayor Bruce Simpson said of the planned hub.
CASC designated a block of vacant land behind the Cherbourg TAFE on Collins Road as the site for the new structure.
Mr Simpson explained the hub was intended to produce a “revolving door” between Cherbourg’s sports complex and the TAFE, with the new building positioned between the two existing services and connecting them via new gates.
“We want to bring it back to the basics of what community is and who we are in community,” Mr Simpson said.
“It’s a foundation of hope.”
Cherbourg’s mayor was unable to provide a specific date of when construction of the hub was due to start.
