The Queensland government’s decision to override human rights so child offenders can be jailed for breaching bail has been criticised as “knee-jerk policy” that will inflict harm on vulnerable children.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday unveiled the details of a second major crackdown on youth crime after the fatal stabbing of mother Emma Lovell at her home north of Brisbane, and the death of a man with a disability who was waiting for a taxi in Toowoomba.
The centrepiece of the crackdown is making breaching bail a crime for child offenders, which she the premier said is aimed at 300 to 400 of the state’s repeat offenders.
“We will use the full force of the law to target the small cohort of serious repeat offenders that currently pose a threat to community safety,” Ms Palaszczuk told parliament.
The government admits parts of the proposed laws are not compatible with the state’s Human Rights Act because they could make it more likely children will be detained while awaiting trial.
“For that reason is inconsistent with international standards about the best interests of the child,” a government report accompanying the bill said.
However, it said, the measure is needed to respond to a “small cohort of serious repeat young offenders” and is deemed necessary “in this exceptional case, to override the HR act”.
Prisoner advocacy group Sisters Inside said not all the children targeted by the laws are violent and in some cases their guardian is the state
“The state has failed them,” chief executive Debbie Kilroy told reporters.
“We have the answers, we have the solutions. But governments just want to do knee-jerk reaction policy and enact legislation that inflicts harm on children for generations to come.”
“This is a legacy of ongoing harm with Aboriginal communities, and on the other hand, they talk about Treaty. I don’t know how the two marry.”
The opposition accused Labor of a major backflip in adopting a signature Liberal National Party policy “word for word”, after the government dismissed criminalising breaching bail for more than two years.
The Greens said Labor’s child bail policy was even worst than the previous LNP government’s policy.
“Instead of reheating old LNP policies, Labor should fix the basics in this state like the housing crisis, underfunded state schools and a strained healthcare system,” Greens MP Michael Berkman said.
The Justice Reform Initiative has also criticised both major parties for supporting hardline child bail policies, saying they would increase the number of children in prison.
The proposed laws also include harsher prison terms for car thieves, new penalties for people who boast about crime on social media and require judges to take the histories of child offenders into account when deciding on bail applications.
There will also be funds to speed up sentencing in children’s courts, a trial of car engine immobilisers to prevent theft and an expanded police “flying squad” that can be rapidly deployed to problem areas.
The state government also plans to build two “therapeutic” youth detention centres, but Katter Australia leader Robbie Katter was sceptical.
“They’ve been very vague on the details of this new flavour of facility … I dont think you’ll find anything really different,” he said.
The youth justice bill will go through a two-week committee inquiry before returning to parliament for a final vote, which it is set to pass.
© AAP 2023
