Submission in response to The Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024
This submission is focused specifically on three key aspects of The Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024, which was introduced into the Queensland Parliament on 28th November 2024. In this submission we respond to: (1) The proposed introduction of ‘adult crime, adult time’, (2) The proposed removal of the principal of detention as a last resort, and (3) The proposed amendments to the Children’s Court Act 1992 to enable the media to be present during criminal proceedings by omitting the ability of a court to make an exclusion order under section 20(2).
Throughout our submission we draw on findings from our recent research conducted for the Queensland Law Reform Commission (see Boxall et al., 2024). We also draw upon the findings of earlier research conducted by Prof Kate Fitz-Gibbon in collaboration with Associate Professor Wendy O’Brien from Deakin University (Victoria, Australia). This research was focused on examining the human rights implications of punitive youth justice measures adopted in Australia and elsewhere. Our research supports the concerns already raised by the Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall that the proposal Bill ‘will not make the community safer and are a clear breach of human rights obligations’ (as cited by Kilroy and Lean, 2024).
