Page 2005 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 June 2021
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interstate? It also asks what police powers should be available for such kids and canvasses whether there need to be exceptions to the raised age.
This is a great opportunity for us to face these issues as a community and set about resolving them, not shying away. The ACT government is committed to ensuring that this reform gives appropriate attention to safeguarding the community. We will work to ensure that members of the Canberra community who are affected by the harmful behaviour of children and young people under the revised age are able to access the same supports and services they would be entitled to before the age was raised.
It is critical that the community knows that removing the avenue through the criminal justice system by raising the age does not mean that we are removing the concept of consequences for serious or repetitive harmful behaviours. It means we are planning for a system that changes the trajectory for these kids instead of setting them up for future offending.
I have been working with my colleagues Minister Stephen-Smith and Minister Davidson to undertake broad consultation with a range of groups to discuss how these reforms will impact the Canberra community. These discussions have included community groups, legal organisations, service providers, victims of crime and justice organisations. We have received significant support from the community sector, various justice and legal groups, service providers and victims of crime to take this historic step.
It is clear that the success of this complex reform will be predicated on a number of careful and innovative policy responses that span across the breadth of the ACT government. We expect that this discussion paper will assist and stimulate the community’s consideration of some of the tough questions that surround this important issue and allow us to be guided by the insights and ideas from across our community. The discussion paper will be located on the YourSay website and is open for input until 5 August 2021. I encourage all interested Canberrans to take the time to send us your thoughts and feedback.
This historic reform remains a very high priority for the ACT government. Raising the age will assist us to align to our international obligations and ensure that our children and young people do not face disproportionate and traumatising consequences for their behaviour before they are old enough to make better decisions. This reform will also improve the safety and wellbeing of our children and young people, their families and the broader Canberra community by preventing children under the age of criminal responsibility from engaging with the criminal justice system, which we know can and does result in lifelong patterns of offending and antisocial behaviour.
The medical evidence tells us that children and young people under the age of 14 that display harmful, risky, unsafe and sometimes violent behaviour predominantly do so as a result of trauma, poor mental health, abuse, neglect or disability. This same evidence tells us that early involvement with the criminal justice system has a significant impact on the neurological and social development of children and young people and often leads to further offending.
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