Youth justice system
Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:30): My question is for the Premier. This morning the Governor signed the historic treaty bill, the final step in making it law. It was a proud moment for our state. But for all her aspirations to repair the harm done, the Premier has just dealt a massive blow to First Nations communities, proposing that children be tried as adults and even face life in prison. It is no secret that these laws will disproportionately impact Aboriginal children already over-represented in our prisons because of systemic racism and disadvantage and discrimination. Has the Premier received advice that her new laws will result in more Aboriginal children being locked up for longer and more deaths in custody?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:31): Today is indeed a proud day for the state of Victoria, and I was proud as Premier to join with the minister for First Peoples, who has led this journey from day one on behalf of the government, and join with the co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly in the presence of the Governor and many colleagues. Not all colleagues and not all political parties were represented at Government House today, but many were – those who support treaty were. We marked treaty becoming law in this state, with royal assent being given by the Governor. It was a proud day not just because of the huge amount of work that has led to this point. It was a proud day, and it should have been a proud day that united the Parliament, because it means better, fairer outcomes for everyone in our state. When you have a treaty framework in place, as we will have through Gellung Warl, and a new way of listening and working and delivering in partnership with First Peoples in this state measures to address systemic disadvantage, that is how you lift Indigenous families and kids and you lift outcomes, and that lifts us all as a state. That is the sort of state I am proud to lead, a state where everyone matters, where everyone belongs and where everyone is equal.
We know, though, that even though treaty is now law, those of us and the many Victorians – it is not just Indigenous Victorians who fought for treaty – who came on this journey have to keep fighting for treaty, because there are some who want to tear it down. There are some who say their very first action in government would be to tear down something that has taken a decade to achieve and represents the beginning of turning around decades and decades of disadvantage. As we know, that line of systemic disadvantage runs from the time of colonisation to this day. To think that your first priority would be to tear down treaty – that is the agenda of the Leader of the Opposition.
Tim Read: On a point of order, Speaker, just on relevance, the Premier has got 20 seconds to touch on the new laws and the impact on Aboriginal children and deaths in custody.
The SPEAKER: There was a very long preamble to that question, and the Premier is being relevant to the question.
Members interjecting.
Jacinta ALLAN: For the record, the Leader of the Opposition just said across the table he is proud of that.
In dealing with the issues of crime, we know that Aboriginal kids are disproportionately victims of crime, which is why we will be moving to protect all kids through our strengthening of the law.
Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (14:34): The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has called these laws ‘cruel and unforgiving’. In fact all the experts who work in youth justice have absolutely slammed these laws. They know what keeps communities safe, and it is not locking up children. In fact that just pushes them deeper into the criminal system, it increases the risk of reoffending and it destroys young lives.
We all want safer communities, but the evidence shows that harsher sentences do not work. Funding early intervention, secure housing and mental health support – that is what works. Premier, has this government done any modelling on the long-term harms that these new laws will cause?
Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:35): The member for Richmond claims to know what every youth justice expert in this field thinks. Well, I was speaking this morning with someone who works in the youth justice sector who was at the treaty signing event this morning and who is proudly an Indigenous Victorian. They said, ‘Well done.’ They said there needed to be change. They talked about the challenges of showing kids – Aboriginal kids – that there need to be boundaries. As parents we know that kids need boundaries; they need to know that there are consequences when they do the wrong thing. That is exactly what we are doing with the introduction of adult time for violent crime, where kids get treated as adults for these violent crimes, where jail is more likely and sentences are longer, and that keeps all of us safe, including those Aboriginal kids, who are also disproportionately victims of crime.