Wednesday, 8 June 2022

Youth justice system

Dr READ (Brunswick) (09:48:438:): I was alarmed to read on the weekend that the government will not proceed this year with planned reforms to the youth justice system as recommended five years ago in the Armytage-Ogloff report, and it appears that they have dropped a bill passed by the Assembly eight months ago which improves child protection law. The Greens had hoped to amend this bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years, because kids too young for Facebook should not be in court, let alone in prison.

First Nations groups like Change the Record and the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and also Save the Children, the college of physicians and numerous legal and human rights groups have been calling on this Labor government for years to raise the age from 10 to 14. Victoria is well placed to lead on this issue and to influence other states which imprison larger numbers of very young Aboriginal kids. Neuroscientists are very clear that children this young are still developing their capacity for judgement and planning. If it is true that the government is so unwilling to debate this issue they have actually dropped a necessary child protection bill, then they clearly need some advice. They can support or oppose our amendment and the bill will still pass, but they need to take responsibility for their decision on the age of criminal responsibility—the age when kids can go to court and even to jail.