Queensland Plans to Imprison Children with ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ Bill

Queensland’s Liberal National Party government has introduced a controversial youth crime bill, admitting it would “directly discriminate” against children.

Premier David Crisafulli introduced Queensland’s safer bill on Thursday; This was the government’s first piece of legislation since winning the bill. According to him, the law “will deter crimes. It will reduce the number of victims.”

The legislation, called “Safer Queensland”, aims to increase maximum sentences for youth crime in line with the party’s election promise of “adult crime, adult term”. Guard.

“The amendments will treat children less favorably than adults under the same conditions and therefore directly discriminate on the basis of age, their right to exercise their right to freedom without discrimination, their right to equal protection of the law without discrimination, and the Statement states that equal and effective protection against discrimination must be ensured.” .

The bill will disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are already over-represented in the criminal justice system, according to the government’s human rights statement.

Attorney General Deb Frecklington acknowledged that the bill could increase the number of children in state watchdog homes, which could lead to “restrictions on protection from cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment” and undermine children’s rights to humane treatment.

“Sabges are not appropriate or humane places to detain children (especially for any length of time), adding that the negative impact outweighs the purposes of punishment.”

Critics argue that the law violates human rights, particularly the principle of detention as a last resort, which only applies to adults. The bill also allows children as young as 10 to be sentenced to life in prison for certain crimes.

The legislation was met with criticism from human rights organizations, lawyers, experts and also the state’s human rights commissioner.

Queensland’s human rights commissioner Scott McDougall said new youth crime laws imposing life sentences on children “who still have baby teeth” were evidence that “society has lost its way”.

Griffith University criminologist William Wood is of the opinion that prisons do not have a positive effect on reducing crime. “Detention and prisons do not reduce crime, they produce crime,” he said.

It will go to parliamentary committee for eight days before returning to parliament in December for a final vote.