LNP’s ‘adult time’ youth crime laws pass parliament with Labor backing

The news

Queensland has passed controversial changes to the state’s youth justice system, which will see kids sentenced as adults for some crimes despite broad warnings from experts and government concessions it will lead to detention capacity “challenges”.

LNP government MPs voted their flagship “Making Queensland Safer” bill into law, with support from the Katter’s Australian Party as victims in the public gallery watched.

Victims and advocates met with LNP MPs, including Premier David Crisafulli, before the passage of the “Making Queensland Safer” laws.Credit: Matt Dennien

Labor MPs also waved through the laws, as Opposition Leader Steven Miles foreshadowed, despite highlighting the warnings of stakeholders and concerns with the fast-tracked process – and a last-minute meeting to finalise splits in the party position.

Why it matters

The bill follows an election campaign in which the LNP sought a mandate to pass laws by Christmas set to also make detention no longer a sentence of last resort for kids, while expanding their criminal records and allowing them to carry into adulthood.

The government argued the rushed approach, disproportionate impact on First Nations kids, and overriding of human rights laws was justified to address crime rates that had risen recently – but remain at historical lows.

But Labor and experts argued the bill went further than what was made public before the election, would have unnecessary negative impacts on both youth offenders and victims which could ultimately harm community safety, and should be subject to greater scrutiny.

What they said

“What a joke,” Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said of complaints about the rushed process, accusing Labor of hypocrisy for doing the same while in government.

“We told Queenslanders … Queenslanders voted to provide the Crisafulli LNP government with a clear mandate to act.”

Frecklington described concerns about adverse impacts on victims during the court process as “overblown”, and revealed pages of last-minute amendments within the final hour of debate in which Labor efforts to make changes were again blocked.

“This [bill] is only part of the story, and that’s why we are committed to addressing the youth crime crisis in Queensland at every stage: prevention, intervention and rehabilitation,” she said.

Miles, in his contribution to debate on Thursday, said: “The Labor caucus will not stand in the way of the LNP implementing their laws by Christmas, as they promised, but we will give voice to the concerns of experts”.

Another perspective

Despite the united parliamentary vote for the law among Labor MPs, a snap meeting was held in Thursday’s lunch break to bed-down the party position amid remaining opposition, several in the room confirmed.

A majority vote of MPs on Monday was said to have backed voting against the laws.

One Labor MP, former crime victim campaigner Jonty Bush, told reporters after the lunch meeting that while she would back the party position she felt “pretty difficult” about the situation given Labor’s “strong and proud history of doing what’s right” for both victims and young people, saying she would “be taking some time to have a think about my future”.

Contributing to debate on Wednesday, KAP Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto reiterated the position of his party that the laws did not go far enough, but they would support them.

“There will be some people out there who would love to see people hung in the street for stealing a car, and other people out there who want to hug these children into oblivion, but we are all out of hugs,” Dametto said.

Greens Maiwar MP Michael Berkman, who also sat on the committee that rubber-stamped the bill for passage in just one week, wrote a dissenting report urging the bill be dumped.

Only he and Noosa Independent MP Sandy Bolton, who led a rare bipartisan committee inquiring into youth justice reforms under the former government that fell apart under major party disagreement, voted against the laws.

What’s next

The laws now require formal sign-off by Governor Jeannette Young before they are in operation, which Crisafulli indicated he would seek to have done as soon as possible in the coming days.

At a media conference before the bill’s passage, Crisafulli reiterated concessions about the “short-term challenges” with already stretched detention capacity – particularly with the summer youth offending peak.

A panel will also be convened next year to advise on further potential additions to the list of offences for which children can be sentenced as adults, and other law changes, he said.

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