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 …

Scrapping of bailhouses latest retrograde step in QLD youth justice reform

Amnesty International Australia has serious concerns about the Queensland Government’s decision to scrap bailhouses as the latest in a rollback of youth justice reforms. Following a Right To Information request in 2018, Amnesty International uncovered serious breaches of international law, which resulted in the Queensland Government introducing bailhouses as well as establishing a youth justice …

Qld voters reject discriminatory crime policies

Queensland voters have sent a clear signal to their elected officials that they need to get smart on crime and abandon policies that discriminate against the state’s most vulnerable. The LNP’s proposal for youth curfews in the State’s north were repudiated by electors with the party not winning the seats in Townsville and Cairns they …

LNP platform a disaster for youth justice reform

Responding to the launch of the Queensland LNP’s “tough on crime” youth justice platform, Amnesty International Australia campaigner Joel Clark said: “The proposal from the LNP for a three-strikes mandatory detention approach to youth justice is completely contrary to all the evidence that shows locking kids up simply does not work. “Sadly, the Queensland opposition …

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 …

Queensland must shine light into youth detention to stop abuse of children

  The Queensland Government must encourage transparency in youth detention centres and police watchhouses, when it establishes the new independent inspectorate of correctional services.   In a positive move, Queensland last week agreed to establish an independent inspectorate for adult prisons, but has not committed to giving the inspector access to all places of detention …

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 …