A proposal to raise Victoria’s age of criminal responsibility will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Monday despite a leading human rights organisation warning that lifting it from 10 to just 12 would be an “abject failure”.
A senior Andrews government source on Friday confirmed the issue would be discussed by cabinet, but would not confirm reporting by the ABC that Victoria would go it alone in raising the age to 12. According to the report, exceptions would apply for those under 12 for murder and terrorism offences.
Such a move would defy advice from the United Nations and human rights, children’s advocates and Indigenous organisations that have pushed for it to be raised to 14, with no exceptions.
Andrews government frontbencher Ingrid Stitt on Friday refused to weigh in on speculation ahead of the meeting of the nation’s attorneys general in Darwin next week. But she stressed Victoria was focused on diverting people away from the criminal justice system.
Amala Ramarathinam, the acting managing lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the premier could not call Victoria the nation’s most progressive state if it continued to put 12-year-old children behind bars.
“Children belong in playgrounds and schools, never in prisons and police cells,” she said.
“Anything less than 14, or with exceptions, will continue to be an abject failure by the Andrews government to uphold the human rights of children and young people in Victoria.”
In February Andrews had flagged Victoria would go it alone and abandon the national process if an Australia-wide agreement could not be reached.
Last year, the nation’s attorneys general agreed to make public a draft report that recommended raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 without exception.
Victoria’s children’s commissioner, Liana Buchanan, said raising the age to 12 would mean continued harm to the state’s most vulnerable children, including those in the child protection system.
Even if the government raises the age, there could be some carve-outs for serious offences such as murder, so that children aged 10 or 11 could face prosecution.
Several Labor MPs pointed to other jurisdictions as possible frameworks for Victoria. They include the Northern Territory, where the government will raise the age to 12 from the middle of this year, but will review the legislation with a view to further raising the age to 14 in two years’ time.
In Tasmania, the minimum age of detention will be raised from 10 to 14, with some exceptions for severe offending and community safety.
One Victorian MP said: “If we do go ahead with 12 I expect that it will be a first step towards getting to 14.”
The MP also said there needed to be an increase in prevention, intervention and diversion programs before raising it again, while another said lifting it to 12 “is a step in the right direction”.
The opposition’s shadow attorney general, Michael O’Brien, said the government needed to outline if there would be exceptions for serious convictions such as rape or murder.
“If this proposal goes ahead, how will the government stop older gang leaders from using children to commit crimes?” O’Brien said.
If the opposition does not support the bill, the government will face the first major test in negotiating with the progressive upper house crossbench.
The Greens accused the Andrews government of ignoring “mountains of evidence” and giving up on vulnerable children.
Nerita Waight, the chief executive of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, said Andrews should be leading the country on this issue.
“If he does not raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old without exceptions, that’s not progressive or responsible,” she said.
A Victorian government spokesperson said the state continued to work with other jurisdictions regarding raising the age but reserved the right to make further announcements on the issue.
As of this week there were no children aged 12 and under in Victorian’s youth justice system.
