Controversial changes that override human rights laws and will allow contingencies for police watch houses and adult prisons to be used as youth detention centres have been pushed through the Queensland parliament.
The Palaszczuk government defended the “urgent” amendments to youth justice laws while the opposition and Greens criticised Labor for rushing them through parliament without proper scrutiny.
Advocates raised concerns the changes would deny children in the youth justice system basic human rights.
The changes were among a raft of surprise amendments Police Minister Mark Ryan introduced on Wednesday that were attached to a child safety bill, in a move the LNP branded an “affront to democracy”.
“The amendments will override the Human Rights Act for the establishment of youth detention centres to allow a detention centre to be established at a police watch house or part of a corrective services facility,” Mr Ryan told parliament.
“It will ensure that immediate capacity issues can be addressed while young people are held safely.”
He said the “time limited” changes would be used only in extraordinary circumstances until the state opened two new youth detention centres in 2026.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer defended the watch house changes, saying they merely formalised a practice that had been in place for 30 years and “the public want community safety”.
“It’s not unique to Queensland and our our view is we’d like to see young people in these watch houses for the most for the minimal time absolutely possible,” Ms Palaszczuk told ABC TV.
The LNP accused the government of “trashing the parliament and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli on Thursday asked the premier whether the government was “arrogant, out of touch and using its numbers to rush through legislation”.
Greens MP Michael Berkman called rushing the amendments “a blight on democracy” and suspending a child’s human rights “disgraceful”.
Ms Farmer said the urgent amendments addressed “a technicality” revealed in a recent Supreme Court ruling.
She said it gave the youth justice chief executive the ability to make decisions in the interests of safety and well-being of youths and staff in detention centres.
The amendments were among a number attached to a child safety bill. Others included decriminalising begging and public drunkenness, reducing regulation of sex workers and changes to preserve a small mining town.
The legislation passed on Thursday evening thanks to Labor’s majority in the one-chamber parliament, with most non-government members voting no and the two Greens MPs abstaining.
Advocates such as the Queensland Human Rights Council, the Queensland Law Society and Queensland Council of Social Service criticised the changes.
“In a watch house, a child can be exposed to violent and anti-social adult behaviour that can be harmful and compound their trauma and they don’t receive the intensive, rehabilitative support they need to address the causes of their offending,” Queensland Family and Child Commissioners Natalie Lewis and Luke Twyford said.
