Page 2006 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 June 2021
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Not only does imprisonment harm these young offenders and prevent them from getting care and assistance that can set their life on a better course; it actually makes the whole community less safe. We also know that these impacts are felt heavily by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, whose children are over-represented in our justice and care and protection systems.
The ACT government is committed to working in partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to develop holistic and equitable solutions in the spirit of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019-2028 and the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility will be an important step towards ensuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the ACT can thrive in a safe environment and have access to quality services that support the positive development, health and wellbeing of children and young people.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility will involve sustained “front-end” investment in diversionary and support programs that address the causes of youth offending. To manage this we must invest in the programs and services that address the underlying causes of youth offending and divert our children away from the justice system. As much as prison is not the right answer, the government understands that there does still need to be an answer. The service system and legislative reforms require careful planning if the change is to be implemented successfully here in the territory. It is crucial that we have the right systems in place to support children below any revised minimum age who exhibit harmful behaviours.
This is a real opportunity for the government to chart a better way for these young people. Unfortunately, this opportunity is apparently too daunting a challenge for many other Australian governments, but the ACT has determined this change is too important to wait on an extremely slow national process. We have children in the ACT that we have the power to help, and so we should.
As part of our planning for diversionary and support programs, the ACT government has committed $120,000 for an independent review of the service system needs and implementation requirements for raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the ACT. This review commenced in February 2021 and is being led by Emeritus Professor Morag McArthur in a consortium with Aboriginal consultancy Curijo and Dr Aino Soumi of the Australian National University. The consortium will work to identify what changes are needed in the ACT service system to support a higher minimum age of criminal responsibility. I thank them for their dedication and expertise in this vital step towards change.
The government is already working to identify what restorative and therapeutic services need support and what gaps need to be filled to ensure that children who are at risk of harming themselves or others can be appropriately cared for and diverted to a better life trajectory. We know that raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility will not change the reality that some children and young people can and do behave in ways that impact the safety and wellbeing of themselves and others.
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