Government fails to live up to its own standards
When it was elected the State Government promised to do better than the Newman government, to respect Parliamentary process and Human Rights. This week it has failed to live up to its own standards” says QCCL President Michael Cope.
By introducing legislation to override the Human Rights Act so it can detain young people in watch houses as amendments to a bill in its final stages the government trashed Parliamentary procedure and ensured that the legislation will not be subject to the ordinary review processes by Committee.
This government introduced the Human Rights Act which has been in force since 2020. In what must be a record the government has overridden the Act twice in the last 3 1/2 years. This is reprehensible behaviour.
“Why is the government indulging in this reprehensible behaviour? Because it is trying to arrest its way out of the youth crime problem. The Council accepts that there is a youth crime problem. However, this problem cannot be solved by arresting and detainig more children”
“Watch houses are entirely inappropriate places for children to be kept. All criminals who are arrested, from the most minor to the most serious go through watch houses. This means that children will be kept in the same place as murderers and child sex offenders. This is appalling”
Detention centres are the universities of crime. Young people sentenced to them will come out more alienated and better criminals. This policy of increasing the number of children in detention will in fact increase the crime rate not decrease it. In short, the policy of detaining more children reduces the safety of the community.
The Bill does contain some welcome changes. In particular, the Bill implements the 30-year-old recommendation of the aboriginal deaths in custody Royal Commission that public drunkenness be decriminalised.
“Queensland is the last State to decriminalise public drunkenness. This is an important step in reducing the rate of incarceration of our indigenous population and in reducing deaths in custody. It is most welcome.”
Whilst the Council welcomes the decision to decriminalise public drunkenness, it is clear that this policy will only work if the government has made a serious commitment to introducing sobering up centres that the police can take people to who are a threat to themselves or others. As a result, no doubt of the obscene haste with which this legislation has been introduced, we have seen no details of how the process of decriminalisation of public drunkenness will be implemented.
Mr Cope says, “Our first concern must of course be for the young people. But the long-term consequences for civil liberties in this State must also be recognized. The government has likely doomed the Human Rights Act. The next LNP government will find it so much easier to either override it or worse repeal it.”
For further information contact Michael Cope President QCCL on 07 3223 5939 during office hours and at all times on 0432 847 154
25 AUGUST 2023