Youth crime Qld: New laws set to be passed unchanged

Queensland’s controversial new youth crime laws look set to pass unchanged, despite being deemed “not compatible with human rights”, after a parliamentary committee gave them the green light.

A parliamentary committee has rubber stamped the Palaszczuk government’s new youth crime laws, making only one recommendation – that the bill be passed.

After a series of public hearings and more than 70 submissions from stakeholders and members of the public, the economics and governance committee released its report on the government’s Strengthening Community Safety Bill on Friday.

It means the new laws will almost certainly be passed unchanged when parliament sits next week.

Committee chair, Logan MP Linus Power, wrote witnesses before the committee were asked “if this (Bill) was a good first step”.

“It is important to not see this Bill in isolation, but to recognise that a variety of other steps are being taken simultaneously,” he wrote.

On the controversial matter of several aspects of the Bill being “not compatible with human rights”, the committee declared “we consider that these incompatibilities with human rights are justified in the circumstances”.

“Limitations of human rights are always a matter of balance,” the report stated.

“Overall, we are satisfied that the Bill strikes an appropriate balance between the protection of the rights of children and young people in Queensland, and strengthening community safety.

“In reaching this conclusion, we have considered the concerns raised by submitters regarding the principle of overriding the HRA and the evidence base on which the Bill’s impact on human rights has been justified.”

Parliament’s economics and governance committee during public hearings into the state’s new youth crime Bill. Picture: Shae Beplate

Key issues raised by the submitters were also outline, including that the Bill did not go far enough as a deterrent, that it would increase the number of youth in detention and lead to more adult offenders, and it would have a negative effect on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth.

The three non-government members of the six-member committee – Ray Stevens, Michael Crandon and Daniel Purdie – included a statement of reservation, saying while they too supported the passing of the Bill, they “hold serious concerns the Bill does no provide the answer to Queensland’s out of control youth crime problem.

“The major flaw in this bill in addressing ‘Strengthening Community Safety’ is the omission of any change to the current directive under the Youth Justices Act that youth offenders only receive a custodial sentence as a measure of last resort,” they wrote.

“This directive seriously restricts the judiciary in their application of sentencing to serial repeat offenders.

“We believe this restriction on the legal system will prevent magistrates and judges from delivering sentences that ensure the safety of the community while enabling the behaviour of offenders to be corrected.

“We believe the Judiciary should be unshackled from this legislative change made by the Labor Government when they first came to office, a time when youth offending rates were considerably lower.”