David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The youth justice system in this country is in crisis. It's racially biased and it intentionally harms the young people who are caught up in it as well as their communities. It costs billions of dollars that could instead be invested in positive outcomes for young people.

I'm proud to say that last week the Senate supported the Greens' motion for a groundbreaking federal inquiry into Australia's youth justice system. Too many children, particularly First Nations children, are being locked up, their futures stolen. We've heard heartbreaking stories from across the country—of tragic deaths in Western Australian children's prisons; of overcrowded children's detention centres in the Northern Territory; of police cells in Queensland; and of places like the Ashley Youth Detention Centre in Tasmania, a youth jail that's still operating despite appalling abuses. It is clear that locking up kids is having devastating effects across this country.

This Senate inquiry, by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, is looking into the big issues, like whether children's prisons are treating kids humanely and whether Australia is even close to living up to its international human rights obligations. The use of spit hoods, isolation and other torture-like tactics is unacceptable. For the first time, the need for strong, enforceable national standards to make sure every state and territory is living up to its obligations to protect kids will be the subject of a national inquiry.

But here's the thing: this isn't just for politicians to solve; this inquiry needs to hear from experts and the community, especially people with lived experience. We need your voice. The inquiry is calling for public submissions, and the deadline is 10 October of this year. This is your chance to speak up, whether you're a parent, a teacher or someone with firsthand lived experience of the system. Make sure your voice is heard.