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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (8 March) . . Page.. 667 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

I am pleased that all members in the Assembly propose to support this proposal to increase that age in the ACT from eight to 10. I think that is appropriate. I think it sets the scene for us. I take the point that it is not an issue that has confronted us here in the ACT as a society or a community, and we can be thankful for that. It would have been quite a crushing issue for us to deal with had there been circumstances in which there was a proposal, for instance, to institute proceedings for a serious crime against an eight- or nine-year-old child here in the ACT. It would have been a devastating issue for us as a community to have to deal with. It would have highlighted that in that instance we as a community had failed that child to the extent that they were engaging in criminal behaviour at such a tender age.

I reiterate my thanks for the support of the Assembly. The fact that we here in the ACT have not been confronted with this issue in a harsh way is not the point of the debate. This is not an esoteric debate about something that does not matter. I think it matters greatly that we as a community send this signal that we care about children; that we care about the way the children are dealt with and perceived. Through debates of this sort we acknowledge that, in coming to judgments about how best to deal with children who are involved in what otherwise would be criminal behaviours and who are obviously crying out for help and support, we are prepared to look at a range of interventions in relation to family support, support at school for dysfunctional and problem children and support for families that are experiencing marital and other difficulties where children are involved.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Detail Stage

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (11.38): I just want to make a few more comments on a couple of issues that were raised in the in-principle debate. Mr Stanhope has reminded me that the issue of the age of criminal intent has been raised in New South Wales in recent days. My recollection goes beyond simply a committee looking at it. I understand that the New South Wales Government has announced its intention to lower from 14 to 12 the age at which a child is assumed to be an adult for all intents and purposes in imputing criminal conduct.

There have obviously been a number of offences committed by younger people in New South Wales in recent days which have led to that reaction by the New South Wales Government. It is worth bearing in mind that the view of the Labor Government of that State appears to be that the age at which children are forming that intent is getting younger rather than staying the same. If the age at which people are fully capable of forming that intent is getting lower at that end of the scale, we have to ask ourselves whether it is also getting younger at the other end of the scale that we are talking about in this debate. That is a crucial question we have to consider.

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