Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm grateful for this opportunity to deliver a speech written by Tara Innes as part of the Raise Our Voice program.

'I'm Tara, a 20-year-old resident of the Tangney electorate in Western Australia, a state that still sends children as young as 10 to prison. What better way to create a brighter future for Australia's upcoming generations than by preventing their entry into the prison system? Children are exceptionally vulnerable to harm, and their interaction with the criminal justice system can inflict lifelong developmental trauma, especially given that their brains are still in the crucial stages of growth. Shockingly, nearly 90 per cent of our incarcerated children in WA have severe mental impairments, which only worsen in the prison environment. Despite an abundance of evidence, recommendations and viable alternatives, Australian states and territories persist in convicting children as young as 10. The current system lacks support for rehabilitation, with approximately 55 per cent of incarcerated children in WA returning to prison within a year, perpetrating a vicious cycle of crime. It's clear that prisons do more harm than good. We urgently need to commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 nationwide. Let's redirect young people towards meaningful rehabilitation rather than detention.'

Thank you, Tara. Young voices need to be heard in our government and are valuable in the decision-making process.