Queensland already racing to find more temporary youth detention spaces

Queensland is already trying to find temporary ways to boost strained youth detention capacity ahead of another expected jump in the number of young people placed in custody under proposed laws.

Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard also conceded the government’s U-turn on a long-criticised LNP policy to criminalise bail breaches by young offenders was about “taking a bipartisan approach” in response to community pressure, rather than evidence.

The Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville, one of three such sites across Queensland.Credit: File

Experts and advocates have warned that the suite of tough youth crime measures expanded this week would only drag more young people deeper into the justice system and boost reoffending.

The measures were initially flagged in December after the first of three recent alleged murders by teenagers.

The government has also sought to override human rights laws to enact some elements of the bill, something Linard told reporters on Wednesday it did not do lightly.

“But we do need to address the 17 per cent,” she said, referring to the portion of young offenders whose actions are classified as serious and repeat.

Childrens Court president Deborah Richards has suggested new criteria applied to the group may be behind an apparent increase in their number.

Linard acknowledged the government expectation, laid out in documents tabled in parliament on Tuesday, that the latest changes to bail availability and compliance would increase youth detention rates after a jump following previous tweaks in 2021.

Queensland already locks up more children than any other Australian jurisdiction, with its nation-leading capacity pressures also resulting in multiple recent reports of young people being held for weeks in watch houses, in breach of police guidelines.

While the government is planning to build two new smaller therapeutic detention centres – more aligned with the 32-bed West Moreton site than the larger existing Brisbane and Townsville facilities – other interim capacity measures are also being considered.

Pressed on this question on Wednesday, Linard said only that the government was “looking at all options” and more detail would come once a decision was made.

Announcing the government’s U-turn on criminalising breach of bail on Monday – amid long-standing opposition calls and a 150,000-strong petition – Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk insisted the government was listening to both the community and evidence.

Asked directly about any such evidence on Wednesday, Linard said Palaszczuk had been referring to other initiatives.

“Responding to breach of bail, as the premier said, was about taking a bipartisan approach, and it’s about responding to something that the community has called for passionately,” she said.

Youth justice questions dominated question time in parliament again on Wednesday, with the opposition focusing on Linard and the overlap of young people in the justice system who also had interactions with child protection.

Public submissions about the proposed laws will close on Friday, little over three days since they were opened, a period already criticised by Queensland Law Society president Chloe Kopilovic, who said the rushed consultation showed the government was not prioritising the issue.

“Extending breach of bail as an offence to children and young people would restrict the ability of judicial decision-makers, and therefore will likely lead to a substantial increase in the financial cost of remand and recidivist offending, as well as the social and financial costs of victimisation,” Kopilovic said in a statement.

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