UN increases scrutiny of Australia’s failing Indigenous rights record, ahead of Human Rights Council vote

Prime Minister Turnbull must demonstrate to the United Nations his commitment to Indigenous peoples’ rights, said Amnesty International, as the watchful eye of the UN falls on Australia’s dismal Indigenous rights record – just seven months before the vote on whether Australia secures a Human Rights Council seat.   The UN Special Rapporteur on the …

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 …