Indigenous leaders slam Queensland's 'egregious' youth justice, child protection systems
First Nations leaders have issued an extraordinary statement, saying they fear the Queensland government is trying to "destroy" Indigenous communities by forcibly transferring children from their families.
The leaders — who include Marcia Langton, Mick Gooda, Alf Lacey, Dean Parkin and Vonda Malone — said the government is perpetuating 'targeted harm' towards children caught in the 'pipeline' between child protection and juvenile justice systems.
"[What] is happening in Queensland are egregious breaches of human rights against children, reminiscent of past Queensland government policies and practices separating children and families," they said.
The statement was issued after more than 100 influential leaders held high-level talks in Brisbane this week — the first major forum of its kind since the Voice referendum in 2023.
The two-day Bandarran Marra'Gu Gathering Strength Summit was attended by Indigenous legal and human rights experts and was hosted by the Queensland Human Rights Commission.
It was also endorsed by Queensland's Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Commissioner Natalie Lewis and Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are vastly over-represented in child protection systems and in youth detention.
In Queensland, Indigenous children were 9.4 times more likely to be in out-of-home care in 2023 — the highest rate in a decade — and on an average day make up 70 per cent of children in prison.
The Queensland parliament is expected to pass the second tranche of the LNP's so-called Adult Crime, Adult Time laws this week.
The legislation has been sharply criticised by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, the United Nations and legal experts.
The state government on Sunday also announced an inquiry into its "broken" child protection system, which Indigenous leaders say must address the over-representation of Indigenous children.
"We hold solutions. It is fundamental that there is adequate opportunity for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to participate directly through the entire duration of the inquiry," the statement said.
The leaders said the inquiry must look at the intersectionality between the child protection and juvenile justice systems, which exists "because of the systematic failure of housing, health and education".
"We see the over-representation … not as a coincidence, but as a direct consequence of policies that fail to respect our rights, services that are culturally unsafe, and of decisions made without our leadership or agreement."
They said the Crisafulli government's "ongoing wilful and wanton disregard of decades of evidence, countless reports and our ongoing calls to take responsibility for our children" has resulted in the crisis.
On Wednesday, former social justice commissioner Mick Gooda, who attended the summit, told ABC News Breakfast the leaders felt a "sense of abandonment" by Queensland's government since it took power last year.
"Their first action when they got elected was to repeal the Path to Treaty legislation, which really was about framing a relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland," he said.
"It's been crickets since. We haven't had a relationship with government … and I think government will eventually realise they need a relationship with us."
There is growing frustration among prominent First Nations leaders over a perceived lack of political will nationwide on Indigenous affairs since the defeat of the Voice referendum in 2023.
The ABC understands some leaders in the room voiced concern that the loss of the Voice referendum has set back progress Indigenous affairs by decades.
The referendum sought to enshrine a permanent Indigenous advisory body into the constitution but failed when two-thirds of Australians voted no to the proposal.
Mr Gooda said this week's summit was "about taking some power back" after the loss.
"We're still suffering, everyone is suffering a bit of trauma from the outcome of the referendum and that has paralysed a whole lot of us," he said.
"But now we've got to get over that and move into some action, and therefore we came together to discuss taking some control back."
The latest Closing the Gap report showed only four of the 19 targets on Indigenous life expectancy, health, education and land rights are on track to be met.
There had also been a 15 per cent spike in Indigenous incarceration in just one year, between 2023 and 2024.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss told News Breakfast the Queensland government's Adult Crime, Adult Time laws — the second tranche of which is before the parliament this week — was a focus of discussion.
If the bill is passed, young people found guilty of 20 further crimes will be tried as adults and face heavier penalties.
"We spoke extensively about children's rights yesterday and the impact of those policies and laws on our children," said Ms Kiss.
"I've been embarking on an 'Informing the Agenda' tour nationally and in every community consultation, children's rights have come up and the impact of youth justice and detention laws on our children and families have been front and centre."
All states and territories are signatories to a national agreement aiming to lift living standards for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but there is mounting concern that the targets aren't being taken seriously by state and territory governments.
The target to reduce Indigenous incarceration by 15 per cent is well off track and worsening in every jurisdiction except Victoria and the ACT.
The lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, Pat Turner, who negotiated the national agreement on Closing the Gap with the Morrison government, told the ABC last week that all levels of government need to take more action.
"We urge the states to make sure that they are fulfilling the needs of our people, consistent with the agreement across the board," she said.
"The government has to take a much stronger role, closing the gap is every minister's responsibility, not just Malarndirri McCarthy."
The Queensland government has been contacted for comment.
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