UN slams 'adult crime, adult time' expansion
International human rights experts have slammed one state, accusing its government of causing undue harm to children as it bolsters controversial youth crime laws.
The Queensland government is set to add 20 more offences to its landmark "adult crime, adult time" laws, meaning children will face lengthy sentences for committing a raft of crimes.
New offences include sexual assault and rape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, arson and attempted robbery.
The Liberal National government quickly passed the laws central to its 2024 election win to ensure children as young as 10 serve a life sentence for murder and manslaughter, while prison time for offences like grievous bodily harm doubled.
The decision to expand the laws came in the wake of several serious crimes, including a teenager who was charged with attempted murder following the alleged stabbing attack on a supermarket worker in Ipswich.
The "adult crime, adult time" laws have previously been slammed by youth advocates who say the scheme breaches the human rights of children.
But the state government has again earned the ire of international human rights experts who say the laws disproportionately impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
"Children are suffering undue harm to their safety and well-being, as well as to their educational and life prospects as a result of short-sighted approaches to youth criminality and detention," the United Nations' Alice Jill Edwards and Albert K Barume said.
The UN has previously criticised the Queensland government for its controversial laws.
Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ann Skelton, posted a video before the laws were passed in December, saying they were a "flagrant disregard" for children's human rights.
Now the two UN human rights experts have written a letter to Australian authorities expressing concerns about the expansion of Queensland's "adult crime, adult time" laws.
They said the amended laws would harm the lives of Aboriginal children and urged members of the state parliament to vote against the bill.
"The first goal should always be keeping children out of prison," the experts said.
"We are extremely concerned that present approaches are creating a future underclass of Australians."
Queensland parliament is set to continue debating the amended laws which are expected to pass late on Wednesday.
It is not the only state pursuing tough youth crime laws after Victoria recently passed an amendment to bail laws that included removing the principle of remand as a last resort for children.
In NSW, controversial youth bail laws passed in 2024 make it harder for 14 to 18-year-olds to be released on serious charges while out on bail for similar offences.
Bail laws in the Northern Territory were strengthened after a teenager was charged following a 71-year-old Darwin store owner's fatal stabbing.
The UN experts said Australia may be violating its international obligations to children with Queensland's harsh criminal laws and the country's criminal age of responsibility, which is 10 in the Sunshine State and the Northern Territory and 14 in other states.
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