CHANGES TO QUEENSLAND'S YOUTH JUSTICE ACT
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
* Queensland will remove "detention as a last resort" from the state's Youth Justice Act
* It will instead say children should be "detained where necessary including to ensure community safety" when other preventive measures are not sufficient
* Premier Steven Miles made the announcement after months of pressure about youth crime
* Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania still use the wording "detention as a last resort" in their youth justice legislation
* All states and territories in Australia recommend preventive measures first before youth detention under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child
* The government says the law change abides by the Human Rights Act and international law
* Queensland has the highest rate of youth detention in the country according to March's Child Death Review report
* On an average day in Queensland in 2022, 267 kids aged 10 to 17 were in a youth detention centre and 227 were there on unsentenced detention
* Queensland has three youth detention centres in Brisbane, Cleveland and Wacol
* Two new centres will be built in Woodford and Cairns
WHAT THEY SAID
"I am concerned that the existing wording of the principle is undermining confidence in the laws and the courts. While prevention and intervention are essential, there are cases where detention is necessary for community safety" - Premier Steven Miles
"The government is seeking to convince Queenslanders that they are removing detention as a last resort. They are not. It is political, it is sneaky, it is underhanded and quite frankly, it is not truthful, and it has to be called out - changing the words will not change the law" - Opposition Leader David Crisafulli
"Really this is wannabe macho men having a fight over who can be the toughest, when actually what we need are some cool heads - this is just a political manoeuvre and a desperate grasp for power" - Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh
"Morally, Queenslanders should be disappointed" - Youth Advocacy Centre CEO Katherine Hayes
Australian Associated Press
