Login
ACT makes ‘historic’ first step towards raising the age of criminal responsibility
In what has been celebrated as a historic first step, the ACT Labor-Greens government has become the first to commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility.
Naomi Neilson
The ACT government has prioritised raising the age of criminal responsibility in its next parliamentary term in a move that has been labelled by legal advocates to be a historic step towards a nationwide change of a law that currently imprisons young children.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it would likely take more than one year before changes would come into effect: “This is something we foreshadowed in the last parliamentary term. We’ll need to consider the various issues; legislation would take time to draft…it would probably have a committee referral.”
The national Raise the Age coalition of medical, legal, Aboriginal-led and human rights organisations commended the government on its commitment and is now calling on other states and territories to follow the ACT’s lead.
“Children across Australia should be in schools and in playgrounds, not in prison cells,” said Human Rights Law Centre’s (HRLC) legal director Ruth Barson, who added that as the ACT government shows leadership and moves towards raising the age, “every other state and territory government must follow suit”.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) co-chair Nerita Waight said they welcomed the ACT’s commitment and commended everyone in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities who “fought hard through sharing their stories, signing petitions, calling local politicians and demanding dignity for children”.
“The UN has recommended Australia does not imprison kids under 16 and we are now lagging behind the rest of the world,” said Ms Waight. “While ACT leads the way, we urge every state and territory to follow their lead.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
