No plans to lift crime age in Queensland, says Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman

Queensland has no plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years, Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman says.

Queensland has no plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years, Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman says.

In a strong indication Queensland will not go it alone if the national push to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility fails, Ms Fentiman said her state had only committed to “consider the development of a proposal” which was not proof the government was “agreeing to anything”.

“We have no plans here in Queensland to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility,” she told parliament on Tuesday.

“What is happening nationally, led by the Commonwealth and WA, is there is a working party to look at how we can better deal with 10 and 11 year olds who are starting to exhibit behaviours that will end them up in the criminal justice system.

“Currently, there are no 10 and 11 year olds in detention here in Queensland, but there is a working group that is looking at how we can better early intervene.”

In late 2021, the Australian Council of Attorneys-General voted in favour of developing a proposal to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, although no jurisdiction has enacted legislation yet.

States remain split on whether to increase the minimum age, despite a landmark report in December recommending it be lifted to 14 without exception.

Currently, the age is legislated at 10 years across Australia, with the ACT on Tuesday introducing a Bill to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years and to 14 years by mid-2025.

Victoria announced last month it would lift the age of criminal responsibility to 12, with plans to increase it to 14 by 2027, and the Northern Territory is due to increase it to 12 in August.

Tasmania’s Liberal government has opted to lift the minimum age of detention to 14 and wants a national approach on the age of responsibility and, like Queensland, NSW is awaiting findings from the nation’s working group due later this year.

Juvenile justice resurfaced as a major political issue for Queensland’s Labor government over summer after a series of high-profile murders allegedly by teenagers. Youth crime has long been a problem in the state’s north, with recidivist youths stealing cars and breaking into homes in Cairns, Townsville and Mount Isa.

Last week, a boy, 13, was charged over the deaths of three women in Maryborough, after he allegedly stole a Mercedes-Benz and caused a fatal car crash.

In a push to address its perceived failure on youth crime, the Palaszczuk government in March decided to override its own human rights laws with legislation that threatens children with two years jail if they breach bail ­conditions.

Under questioning from the Liberal National opposition on Tuesday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she would await results of national discussions about increasing the age of criminal responsibility. “But there is no change to that minimum age in Queensland,” she said.

The Queensland government last year voted down a Greens Bill to raise the age to 14, with a parliamentary committee recommending a continued national approach to increasing the age to 12.

Greens MP Michael Berkman on Tuesday said: “Queensland is fast gaining a reputation for violating children’s human rights, and if they want to even start repairing that reputation they need to urgently raise the age to at least 14.”

Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council statistics show less than 10 per cent of young ­people sentenced in 2005-22 were under 14 and most were for property offences such as unlawful entry, wilful damage and stealing.