Photo: 123RF
By Annabel Bowles, the ABC
- Australia's Northern Territory has passed new laws that lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10, about two years after the previous government raised the age to 12.
- It comes a day after the Country Liberal Party government pushed through tougher bail legislation and extra powers for police as part of a suite of law and order changes.
Australia's Northern Territory has lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old, during the new government's first week of parliament sittings.
The Country Liberal Party government used its 17-member majority to push through the legislation late Thursday night, while seven from the opposition and crossbench voted against the move.
It comes about two years after the previous Labor government raised the age to 12, making the NT the first jurisdiction in the country to do so.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said lowering the age back to 10 would allow the government to intervene earlier in the lives of children committing crimes.
"No 10 or 11-year-old is born a criminal. There has been systemic failure in these young people's lives, probably since before they were born," she said.
"We have this obligation to the child who has been let down in a number of ways, over a long period of time.
"And we have [an obligation to] the people who just want to be safe, people who don't want to live in fear anymore."
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said the move was "dooming young Aboriginal Territorians to a life of disadvantage, reduced opportunities and poorer education outcomes".
"We know - because all of the evidence tells us this - that the earlier a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more prolonged their involvement is likely to be," she said.
"We want to see children held accountable for bad behaviour but then supported to get on a better path, to re-engage with school."
Other changes to the Criminal Code Amendment Bill 2024, which passed on Thursday, included new laws against ram raids and "posting and boasting" about crime on social media.
Tougher bail, extra police powers delivered under 'Declan's Law'
The government also passed a raft of bail changes known as Declan's Law in parliament this week.
The changes, which were passed on Wednesday, expand the presumption against bail for various violent offences and for children aged 10 to 17, with the aim of keeping more alleged offenders on remand.
"We know that by strengthening bail reform we can make Territorians safer and ease the pressure on police," Finocchiaro said.
However, lawyers and justice reform advocates have raised concerns about how the NT's overcrowded prisons will cope with more people behind bars.
The Northern Territory already has high rates of incarceration, with about one percent of the population in prison - and recent data showed about 40 percent of those were on remand.
Finocchiaro said the previous Labor government's policies had left the territory's prisons "full and broken" and she flagged the CLP would soon release its plan to fix corrections.
Declan's Law also gives police more powers to use metal-detecting wands on public transport and in schools, in a bid to prevent knife crime.
Crossbench and opposition join protesters outside parliament
More than 100 people gathered at the steps of parliament on Wednesday in protest against the CLP government's package of law and order changes.
Arnhem Land elder and long-serving independent Mulka MLA Yiŋiya Guyula was among those protesting, as well as newly-elected independent MLA Justine Davis, Greens MLA Kat McNamara and some Labor members.
"This government will lock up children who are so young they don't know what they're doing yet," Guyula said.
"These children will be scarred and traumatised for life by a government who have taken them from their country and culture.
"This will not make our communities a safer place. It will not protect our children or fix the problem of crime."
Larrakia leader Patj Patj Janama Robert Mills said diversionary programs were needed to teach children "the right path and keep them off the wrong path".
"To lock up a 10-year-old child, regardless of their race, I believe is an international crime against humanity," he said.
"It's just heartbreaking, soul-destroying. Why would anybody do this?"
Johnston MLA Justine Davis said Thursday's debate on lowering the criminal age marked "a sad day for all Territorians".
"If this law passes, we will not be the only country in the world that treats 10 year olds as criminals, instead of children," she said.
"But, to my knowledge, we will be the only country that raised the age based on evidence, did not evaluate the impact, and then chose to lower it again."
- ABC