Youth justice system
Dr READ (Brunswick) (11:33): My question is to the Acting Premier. In Australia children as young as 10 can be charged and sent to court, and around Australia hundreds of children are jailed and two-thirds of them are Aboriginal. The Australian Medical Association, Amnesty and Aboriginal legal services have at various times called on governments to raise the age because imprisonment is so harmful to such young children who are still developing, and the long-term mental health consequences are so severe. Criminalising children under 14 sets them up for future reoffending and imprisonment when what they need is treatment and support. Will this government commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 without further delay?
Mr MERLINO (Monbulk—Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health) (11:34): I thank the member for Brunswick for his question on what is a very, very serious issue in regard to our young people. The best outcome for our young people in Victoria is for them to avoid contact with the justice system in the first place, and that means tackling the root causes of crime and of youth offending, and that will be and is our first priority. To that end last year we launched our youth justice strategic plan, which sets out a 10-year strategy to focus on early intervention to prevent crime, reduce reoffending and provide genuine opportunities for young people to turn their lives around. We committed $11.8 million in the Victorian budget to implement an Aboriginal youth justice strategy to address the issues that the honourable member quite rightly raises—overrepresentation of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids in custody. Together with the Aboriginal community we established the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement, which is now in its fourth phase, and the longest running agreement of its kind in our country, and it has self-determination at its core.
In my portfolio responsibilities in education, again another focus has been on early intervention, grabbing those kids who are at risk of leaving school and leaving the education system, whether it is through our Navigator program or whether it is through Lookout, which supports children in out-of-home care, and most recently with the release of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System report and the powerful findings and recommendations in regard to engaging young people and preventing kids from coming off the rails as early as possible. So that is our focus.
The member would understand that we have got a longstanding practice in this place not to support private members bills, but I want to say that in terms of this issue, in terms of whether it is the Attorney-General, the Minister for Crime Prevention, the Minister for Health or the Minister for Housing, a number of us have responsibilities in this place to support young people and ensure they do not get into the criminal justice system. I do not have any further announcements to make, other than to say that prevention, early intervention and tackling the roots of crime are the most important things we can do.
Dr READ (Brunswick) (11:37): The Acting Premier seems to be saying that this government will not be raising the age of criminal responsibility in not so many words. Could the Acting Premier actually confirm that? The ACT has decided to lead the way by undertaking to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Other states have more punitive policies than Victoria, and therefore have higher numbers of children, particularly Aboriginal children in detention. By joining the ACT, Victoria could lead other states away from their harsher policies and protect some of our most vulnerable and disadvantaged children from further harm. Will Victoria join the ACT and raise the age of criminal responsibility?
Mr MERLINO (Monbulk—Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health) (11:38): I thank the honourable member for his supplementary question. What I indicated to the member is that I have got no announcements to make today, and we have got a longstanding practice of not supporting private members bills. But this issue is a very, very serious one, and subject to deep discussion and engagement around the cabinet table and within other forums in government. The focus of the Andrews government from the day we came into office was to support young people and ensure that we tackle the roots of crime. That is the most important thing we can do, and whether it is with crime prevention, whether it is with engaging with our Indigenous communities, whether it is supporting Victoria Police and their youth support services and again engaging with kids who are at risk of offending or whether it is in the education system, that is our focus, and we have got a proud record in this space.