Three days before the end of 2022, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk鈥檚 Queensland government announced it was set to enact a set of laws designed to crack down on youth offenders.
This is happening when the nation鈥檚 habitual jailing and harsh treatment of young inmates is being challenged as counterproductive.
The December聽29 鈥溾 statement by Palaszczuk, police minister Mark Ryan and youth justice minister Leanna Linard was provoked by a recent killing.
Two teenagers have been charged with the Boxing Day聽聽of North Lakes woman Emma Lovell, who聽聽during a home invasion.
Palaszczuk said the rollout of stiff penalties is a response to the community wants and that the package of laws was among the most comprehensive her state has ever enacted.
鈥淐rime, especially youth crime, is a complex issue but community safety must come first,鈥 Palaszczuk said. 鈥淎ll of the programs to divert children away from crime will continue but the community is demanding tougher penalties too.鈥
Even tougher
The statement said youth offenders would be incarcerated for longer periods, with the aim of allowing them to complete rehabilitation programs. The government is also providing $10 million to supply 20,000 engine immobilisers to prevent car theft in urban centres in the north.
Ten reforms are listed as part of broader legislative changes set to be introduced early this year. These include raising the maximum penalty for聽聽from seven to 10 years, that will jump to 14 years in the case of aggravated car theft.
Previous bail history, criminal activity and the person鈥檚 track record will be considered in the sentencing. Penalties will increase if an offender brags about their crimes on social media. The government is further proposing to build two new youth justice centres, adding to the four already operating.
Ryan said that 鈥渢ougher penalties, elevated surveillance and a concentrated 鈥榚xtreme鈥 police visibility in strategic locations at certain times will help disrupt the illegal activities of those who wish to do harm to the community鈥.
However these remarks fly in the face of growing calls around the country to bring an end to the harsh punishment of youths on the basis that it sets them up for a life of reoffending and incarceration.
Imprisonment is聽聽between the ages of 10 and 14, who are understood not to have developed to the point that they fully comprehend the consequences of their actions.
But despite the ongoing campaign to聽聽of criminal responsibility, Queensland continues to imprison kids as young as 10 years old.
When parliament was given a chance to raise the age, via a Greens bill聽, Labor and the Coalition voted it down.
A nationwide issue
Since the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre revelations in mid-2016 revealed child detainees were being tortured and abused by youth justice officers, numerous other such incidents have also come to light. Among the latest is the fact that youth detainees in Tasmania鈥檚 Ashley child prison were being repeatedly sexually assaulted.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge聽聽for Don Dale and Ashley to be shut down. Together with Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, he announced at the end of last year that they will table a bill aimed at closing Darwin鈥檚 notorious Don Dale down.
The first calls to shut Don Dale were made by a 2017 royal commission. Despite the Coalition attorney general George Brandis agreeing to permit international inspectors to monitor the country鈥檚 correctional facilities after they arrived last year, they were聽.
Indeed, both major political parties seem determined to carry on with their tough 鈥渓aw and order鈥 agendas. While they try to placate prisoner reformers with the occasional progressive sentiment, for the most part, Labor and the Coalition seem determined to tighten the screws further.
[Paul Gregoire writes for , where this article was first published.]