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New Qld law ‘an international embarrassment’ for Australia, says children’s commissioner
According to the National Children’s Commissioner, the Sunshine State’s controversial Making Queensland Safer Bill has a “flagrant disregard” for the human rights of children and international law.
Jerome Doraisamy
The newly elected Crisafulli government in Queensland has introduced its Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024 to the state’s Parliament, under which juvenile offenders who commit serious crimes will face the same penalties as adult offenders, and the rights of victims will be put ahead of the rights of offenders.
Under the proposed laws, Premier David Crisafulli and Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said in a recent statement, the Youth Justice Act 1992 would be amended so young offenders committing particular crimes would be subject to the same penalties as adults.
“The Making Queensland Safer Laws are the first strike back against a youth crime crisis a decade in the making,” Premier Crisafulli said.
“This is Adult Crime, Adult Time, the tough laws with consequences for actions, voted for by Queenslanders. Where we are today is the result of decisions made a decade ago; a fresh start is what we need, Queenslanders demanded it, and we are delivering it with the Making Queensland Safer Laws.
“No one is suggesting there will be no crime, but these laws will start to restore safety to our community and mean fewer Queenslanders fall victim to crime.
“Youth who choose to commit the most serious crimes will serve the time under these strong laws, but with Gold Standard Early Intervention and effective rehabilitation, they will have every opportunity to stay on the right track.”
A-G Frecklington added that the bill made important changes to fundamental provisions that determined how courts dealt with serious juvenile offending.
“The purpose of our justice system must be to hold people accountable for their actions and to break cycles of reoffending,” A-G Frecklington said.
“Under the changes we are introducing, courts will be able to consider an offender’s full criminal history to better address patterns of offending when sentencing. We’re giving our judges and magistrates every tool they need to impose sentences that meet community expectations and keep violent offenders off our streets.”
Speaking yesterday (Wednesday, 11 December), national children’s commissioner Anne Hollonds called on the federal government to affirm its commitment to the human rights of Australia’s children, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“This bill has attracted widespread condemnation, including from the United Nations, for its ‘flagrant disregard’ of the human rights of children and international law. The fact that its provisions are targeting our most at-risk children makes this retreat from human rights even more shocking,” the commissioner said.
“This is an international embarrassment for the Australian government as it signals to the world Australia’s failure to uphold the basic human rights of children in the most vulnerable of circumstances.
“The bill creates new laws which could result in children as young as 10 years of age being sentenced as adults, including mandatory life sentences. Detention as a last resort would also be removed as a key principle guiding the sentencing of child offenders. These and other measures in the bill contravene Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“Most of these children have disabilities, learning problems, mental health issues and trauma. Many live in poverty and lack the most basic of human requirements, such as secure housing and food, schooling that meets their needs, and support for drug addiction and violence. Too many are First Nations children.”
The measures in the bill, Hollonds went on, are not based on the evidence of what is required to prevent crime by children.
“This bill will harm children and will not make Queensland safer. The Queensland government is ignoring evidence [that] shows that the younger a child comes into contact with the justice system, the more likely it is that they will continue to commit more serious crimes,” she said.
“The Prime Minister has many times promised to ‘leave no one behind’, but as my report, Help Way Earlier!, recently tabled in Parliament shows, far too many children are currently being left behind in this country.”
At this critical time, Hollonds concluded, all governments across our federation need to stand up for the human rights of Australia’s children, including the Albanese government.
In September, Hollonds appeared on The Lawyers Weekly Show to discuss the aforementioned report and the urgent need to better ensure justice outcomes for Australian youth, how Australia is failing in youth justice, and offered a roadmap for reforming children’s justice outcomes nationwide.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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