Joint CCLs letter re Migration Amendment Bill 2024

We are particularly troubled by the objectives apparently underpinning the legislation, including exclusion of entire nations from migration to Australia, further criminalisation and exposure to imprisonment and detention of people seeking safety in Australia, and circumvention of the impact of a prospective High Court decision regarding unlawful administrative detention.

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Premier's attacks on judiciary show weakness

“The Premier’s suggestion that Magistrates’ behaviour should be changed when he full well knows it is his Government’s policy as reflected in Queensland’s Youth Justice Act that the law is as pronounced by Magistrate Power reflects the Premier’s weak and unprincipled repetitive attacks on Queensland’s Judiciary”, Mr O’Gorman said

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Submission to Inquiry into Youth Justice Reform

Most persistent offenders acquire a criminal record, so one option is to increase the rate at which we imprison recidivist juvenile offenders.  Even the most optimistic research to date suggests that incapacitation is not a very cost-effective way of reducing juvenile crime.  The money we spend incarcerating juvenile offenders would, in many circumstances, be better spent treating or trying to rehabilitate them.  There is good evidence that treatment for drug dependence is an effective way of reducing re-offending.  There is also good evidence, despite earlier suggestions to the contrary, that it is possible to rehabilitate re-offenders using methods such as conferencing, cognitive behavioural therapy or training in basic life skills.

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