An Indigenous campaigner has accused the Queensland government of “hypocrisy” for voting against a bill to raise the age of criminal responsibility on the same day that it committed to a “historic” treaty with First Nations people.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, told parliament on Tuesday the government would make a “historic leap towards reconciliation” and commit to signing a treaty with Indigenous people.
But on Tuesday night, a Greens’ bill to raise the criminal age of responsibility from 10 to 14 in Queensland was defeated in parliament after Labor, the Liberal National party, One Nation and Katter’s Australian party voted against it.
Independent MP Sandy Bolton was the only MP to vote with the Greens in favour of the bill.
“It’s incredibly hypocritical to stand up and say that the Labor government will work towards the treaty while still locking up kids,” Maggie Munn, an Indigenous rights campaigner for Amnesty International Australia, said.
“If the government is truly committed to a treaty and justice for our people [then] they need to start actually putting their money where their mouth is.”
Across Australia, children as young as 10 can be held in watchhouses and hauled before courts to face criminal charges.
Australia’s attorneys general last November agreed to develop a plan to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 – a move which has been deemed inadequate by justice advocates.
Research showed half of all children who end up in the youth justice system have not had stable homes, one-fifth have been subject to child protection orders, and many have been in and out of the child protection system.
Indigenous children are disproportionately represented in Australia’s criminal justice system, with almost half of all young people in detention in Australia identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
“The medical evidence is crystal clear: prisons only harm, and never help, young children,” the executive officer at the Change the Record coalition, Sophie Trevitt, said.
“The Queensland government should heed the advice of doctors and change these outdated and damaging laws that do nothing to keep the community safe, and only traumatise children who need support and services.”
Greens MP Michael Berkman said the government was treating the issue as a “question of politics”, despite receiving recommendations to raise the age from the Queensland Human Rights Commission, Office of the Public Guardian, Queensland Council of Social Services, Change the Record and Amnesty International.
“The government’s refusal to raise the age to at least 14 will mean even higher First Nations incarceration rates, more human rights violations by the state, and more children reoffending because they’re not offered age-appropriate services outside of the criminal legal system,” Berkman said in a statement.
Queensland’s attorney general, Shannon Fentiman, opposed the bill and said raising the age would be “irresponsible” ahead of a national approach that would promote “consistency” and “fairness”.
“All states and the commonwealth have agreed to develop a proposal to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years,” Fentiman told Guardian Australia.
“It is clear there is significant work which needs to be done before this is implemented.”
Fentiman said the government remains “absolutely committed to lowering the rate of incarceration of our First Nations people”.
She said Tuesday’s commitment to a path to treaty is “an important step to overcoming significant injustices that still persist in our society”.
The shadow attorney general, Tim Nicholls, also voted down the bill on Tuesday. He said the issue should be dealt with federally and the LNP’s first priority was the “protection of the community”.
The KAP member for Kennedy, Shane Knuth, said the government should not go “softer” on repeat offenders and that youth crime was “a huge issue in north Queensland”.
As a Gunggari gambi person, Munn feels the government is “perpetuating harm” by incarcerating children without dealing with the “root causes” of their behaviour.
“I’m terrified that the next death in custody is going to be one of these babies,” they said.
