Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) First Nations children are over-represented in the youth justice system and the failure of state and territory governments to address the underlying causes of disadvantage is entrenching children in the criminal justice system,

  (ii) the age of criminal responsibility is currently 10 years of age around Australia meaning children as young as 10 are being charged, brought before courts, sentenced and imprisoned, and

  (iii) the United Nations has recommended that the age of criminal responsibility for all nations be increased to 14 and the minimum age at which a child could be placed in detention be raised to 16;

(b) welcomes Dujuan Hoosan and his family to Parliament House this week, who will be meeting with Parliamentarians and screening the documentary In myBlood it Runs that features his struggles to integrate his Indigenous culture with the western education system and his experiences in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) with the justice system;

(c) acknowledges Dujuan's courage, leadership and advocacy on behalf of First Nations children and his community; and

(d) calls on the Federal Government to urgently address the underlying causes of youth incarceration including systemic racism, intergenerational trauma and poverty, and to work with state and territory governments to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years, as a minimum.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the government, I ask that the question be split and that paragraphs (a) to (c) be put separately to paragraph (d). I also seek leave to make a short statement.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We welcome Dujuan to parliament. Under our Indigenous Advancement Strategy we are funding a range of activities to improve justice and community safety outcomes for Indigenous Australians. On 23 November 2018 the Council of Attorneys-General agreed to establish a working group to consider whether it would be appropriate to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years of age, as is currently the case in all jurisdictions. The working group will consider Australia's minimum age of criminal responsibility, drawing from relevant jurisdictional and international experience, and will report back within 12 months. The Commonwealth is not committed to any position and will consider the report once it's finalised. We note that this is largely a matter for the states and territories, with very low historical rates for incarceration of children under the age of 14.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that paragraphs (a) to (c) be agreed to.

Question agreed to.

The question is that paragraph (d) of notice of motion No. 500 be agreed to.

Senators, as a courtesy: I think that deals with the matters that will be controversial, and I will ring any subsequent bell from this point for four minutes.