Crisafulli uses new data to defend youth crime laws ‘incompatible’ with human rights
Premier David Crisafulli has defended his government’s new youth crime laws after his own attorney-general conceded they would be a violation of human rights.
In documents tabled to Queensland parliament, and seized on by the United Nations, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said the laws were “incompatible with human rights” but the state’s youth crime situation was “exceptional”.
As a result, the Queensland Human Rights Act would be overridden to pass the legislation this week.
Attorney-General Deb Frecklington (left) has conceded the LNP’s new youth crime laws are ‘incompatible’ with human rights, but Premier David Crisafulli (right) is standing by the legislation.Credit: Matt Dennien
On Sunday, as he released new police youth crime data in Ipswich, Crisafulli was asked how he was able to push through the laws, despite the admitted human rights issues.
“The knowledge that if we do early intervention and rehabilitation and purpose, we can turn the young lives around,” he said.
“Because of a failure to have consequences for actions, it’s caused an absolute sea of carnage for victims across the state, and they are first and foremost our priority – so, too, is making sure that we can turn the tide on those repeat offenders numbers.”
The data showed there were 50,315 reported youth crime offences this year in Queensland, up to the end of last month.
The South Brisbane police district had the most crimes reported, but the two districts with the most serious repeat offenders – Far North (78) and Townsville (68) – were both in the north of the state.
Crisafulli said the figures showed the urgency of the Making Queensland Safer Bill currently before state parliament.
He said the legislation would be law by Thursday “with or without the support of the Labor Party” but that would likely not be the end of it.
“We are fulfilling the commitments that we took to the people of Queensland, but this will not be the final iteration of the Making Queensland Safer laws,” Crisafulli said.
“There may be worthy things that are put forward that may not be in this tranche of legislation, but could be in the next one.
“...I’ve already committed to the Morcombes that Daniel’s law will headline the next round of changes, which will be calendar year 2025, and that will establish a child sex offender register in Queensland.
“Now that’s something that I’m committed to, and they’ve been calling for it for a decade. We felt that it was important that there was additional opportunity for people to have a say on something that’s very complex.”
On that point, several opponents have had their say. Australian Human Rights Commission Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner Katie Kiss said the “retrograde” laws make children pay the price for those who had failed them.
“The real culprits of youth crime are disadvantage, despair and desperation – caused by generations of failed government policy,” she said.
Royal Australasian College of Physicians paediatric and child health division president Professor Nitin Kapur said the laws would do more harm than good.
“What these children need is medical, psychological and social support to help address the challenges they face,” he said.