Submission: Inquiry into the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (QLD)

Amnesty International Australia has made a submission to the inquiry into the Youth Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (QLD). The bill sets out to: make it harder for recidivists to get bail, introduce a 12-month trial of GPS monitoring as a bail condition for 16 and 17-year-olds charged with particular offences, make it …

Eight issues behind Indigenous youth suicide

By Dr. Hannah McGlade Curtin As a Noongar woman, a mother, and human rights advocate I have been very shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of young lives in my community. Young Aboriginal children and youth are ending their lives before they’ve had a chance to build them. Our national health bodies have called …

Submission to the Queensland Productivity Commission Inquiry on Imprisonment and Recidivism

The Queensland Government asked the Queensland Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry to determine how government resources and policies may be best used to reduce imprisonment and recidivism to improve outcomes for the community. Amnesty International Australia submitted to the inquiry into imprisonment and recidivism focused on and making recommendations to go towards ending the …

New #JustJustice book should be top of PM Turnbull’s reading list

The Federal Government must make good on its promise to listen to, and work with, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including engaging with the solutions put forward in the forthcoming #JustJustice essay collection. The book includes more than 90 articles on solutions to protect the rights of Australia’s First Peoples. These include pieces by …

Historic win: 17-year-olds will be removed from adult prison in Queensland

Overturning five decades of injustice, the Queensland Parliament passed a Bill that will mean 17-year-olds are no longer held in adult prisons or tried as adults in the justice system. Queensland was the only state or territory in Australia to have this law, in conflict with children’s rights. Indigenous Rights Campaigner Roxanne Moore, reflects on this …

Good news: 17-year-olds out of adult prisons

The Palaszczuk Government, with the support of three cross-bench Members, has today shown great leadership in protecting Queensland’s children. It has ensured the passage of a historic Bill to move 17-year-old children out of adult prisons and into the youth justice system. Queensland has treated 17-year-old children as adults in the criminal justice system since …