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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (8 March) . . Page.. 655 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

Consequently, Mr Speaker, I will not be moving my motion today. This has been a fabulous example of a proponent working with the community to come up with solutions to community concerns. It has been a great outcome. I believe that Community Housing Canberra has acted as a model for redevelopers, and I hope that others learn from their shining example. I would also like to pay tribute to those members of the community who showed concern and to the officers of the Minister's department who worked to resolve those concerns. I also compliment Minister Smyth for his assistance in this matter.

Notice No. 2, private members business, having been called on and the member failing to move the motion, the notice was withdrawn from the notice paper, pursuant to standing order 128.

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE AMENDMENT BILL 2000]

Debate resumed from 25 August 1999, on motion by Mr Stanhope:

MR SPEAKER: Is it the wish of the Assembly to debate this order of the day concurrently with the Children and Young People Amendment Bill 2000? There being no objection, that course will be followed. I remind members that in debating order of the day No. 1 they may also address their remarks to order of the day No. 2.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (10.41): Mr Speaker, the two Bills before the Assembly today essentially are aimed at the same goal - that is, to raise the minimum age at which a child can be held responsible for a crime from the age of eight to the age of 10. The age at which a child can be deemed to be capable of forming the intent to commit a crime varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It ranges from the age of seven to the age of 12. At the moment, in the ACT the minimum age is deemed to be eight. It is 12 years in Canada; it is 10 in the UK, New Zealand and most Australian jurisdictions; it is eight in Scotland; it is seven in Ireland. I think it is also eight in Tasmania. So there is a wide variety of ages at which a child can be deemed to be capable of forming the intent to commit a criminal offence.

We need to be clear about what we are talking about here. There is an age below which a child is deemed to be incapable of committing a criminal offence, and that is the age of which I have just been speaking. In other words, in the ACT at the present time, if a child

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