State gov to override Human Rights Act to sentence more youth crims as adults

Premier David Crisafulli will override the Human Rights Act to add more offences including kidnapping and stealing firearms to Adult Crime, Adult Time laws. SEE THE LIST + HAVE YOUR SAY

Premier David Crisafulli with Attorney-General Deb Frecklington and Minister for Youth Justice Laura Gerber. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen

Children stealing firearms, kidnapping, ramming emergency services and trafficking dangerous drugs will be sentenced as adults under the state government’s latest changes to crime laws.

The new laws will also ensure children sentenced to life in prison have to serve a minimum non-parole period of 15 years.

Premier David Crisafulli revealed the government would override the Human Rights Act to add 20 new charges to the Making Queensland Safer Laws.

Among the 20 are going armed to cause fear, threatening violence, assaulting a pregnant woman and killing or doing harm to an unborn child, ramming an emergency vehicle, endangering a police officer, several rape offences, stealing a vehicle or firearm and kidnapping.

Premier David Crisafulli and Laura Gerber. Picture: Brendan Radke

The latest change also allows victims to nominate someone else to receive information about an offender to ensure they do not inadvertently receive “potentially triggering information”.

Mr Crisafulli said the latest round targeted offences where there was a use of violence and significant risk to the community.

The change to include attempted murder comes after the government faced criticism for not introducing the offence in December.

A court can now impose life imprisonment, compared to the previous maximum of 10 years imprisonment unless it was “particularly heinous”.

A child sentenced to life imprisonment must serve a minimum non-parole period of 15 years.

“This is an important aspect of protecting the community from serious violence and harm – I must be clear that we have not taken these decisions lightly,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“We’re starting to see the green shoots of change in the right direction.

“It’s only the beginning, but it’s the change we need to see across Queensland.”

Laura Gerber Minister for Youth Justice and Victim Support during State Parliament question time. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen.

The state government on Sunday released the five new charges added to the Making Queensland Safer Laws, but refused to detail the rest of the “over a dozen” promised.

It is understood the list of new offences had not been finalised on Sunday when Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber made the announcement alongside Mr Crisafulli and Attorney-General Deb Frecklington.

The Labor Opposition said it did not have a position on the Bill, but would instead wait until it was scrutinised by a parliamentary committee.

The government used the introduction of the second tranche of charges to attack Labor, which was split in December when the government introduced the first round of offences.

Ms Gerber questioned: “Will they back adult crime, adult time?”

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli during a press conference in Brisbane. Picture: Supplied

“We saw what happened last time when we introduced the Making Queensland Safer Laws, we had a caucus comedy show with the Member for Cooper (Jonty Bush) threatening to leave the party.”

A teary Capalaba MP Russell Field, whose son Matt was killed alongside his fiance Kate and their unborn baby Miles at the hands of a teenager driving a stolen car, told parliament he understood the “physical and emotional” pain victims experienced.

“There were times my wife and I sat on the patio, watched the sun come up … watch the sun go down – life was passing us by,” he said.

Katter’s Australian Party MP Nick Dametto praised the state government’s broad commitment to toughening crime laws.

“The kids in this state need to learn the game is up,” he said.

Greens MP Michael Berkman said the laws would make children lifelong offenders.

“It won’t matter how many offences the LNP government adds to these laws, because the LNP’s underlying approach will actively increase reoffending rates,” he said.

“The way you prevent crime is with housing, schools, healthcare and social services.”

Youth Justice Minister Laura Gerber MP has defended the decision to wait before adding new charges to the LNP’s Adult Crime, Adult Time laws.

This week, the Queensland Government added 20 new offences to its Making Queensland Safer laws this week, expanding the laws to cover 33 offences for youth offenders including aggravated attempted robbery, arson, attempted murder, rape, and ramming an emergency service vehicle.

Greens MP Michael Berkman, Member for Maiwar. Photo Steve Pohlner

Ms Gerber said the new offences were added following recommendations from an expert legal panel.

“We knew that there was so much more that needed to be done, and that’s why we said that there would be an expert legal panel established,” she told 4BC.

“We promised there’d be an expert legal panel to look at all of those other offences, and that panel would give us advice, which they have done, and then we would act on that advice.”

Ms Gerber added that it was crucial for the expert legal panel to be given adequate time to provide advice on the offences that should be covered under the laws.

“It was about being methodical and calm and considered in our approach,” she said.

“We needed to give them the space and the time to be able to provide the government and me with the advice in relation to the further offences that should be added in Adult Crime, Adult Time.

“We made a promise to Queenslanders that we would be a government that not only prioritises the rights of victims, but ensures those consequences for actions, but delivers that in a methodical and calm way so Queenslanders can have confidence in our justice system once again, but also so that victims can be put first in our system once again.”

Ms Gerber said it is now “up to the courts” to start implementing the Adult Crime, Adult Time laws.

“Those (Labor) laws meant that judges were acting with one hand tied behind their back,” she said.

“We are a government that will ensure the courts have the laws to be able to impose consequences for action, and I mean, it’s up to the courts now to start doing that.”

Originally published as State gov to override Human Rights Act to sentence more youth crims as adults