Children as young as 10 years old can once again be sent to jail in Australia's Northern Territory after parliament changed a law to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12, citing a "crime crisis."
The Country Liberal Party, elected in August, passed the measure as part of a series of bail reform measures called "Declan's Law" in honor of a bottle shop worker who was killed by a teen who was out on bail at the time.
The legislative action comes just two years after the previous Labor government raised the age of responsibility to 12, the BBC reported.
Proponents of the legislation said lowering the age would better protect children and help restore the "lifestyle" of residents of the territory.
Gerald Maley, the deputy chief minister, blamed the Labor government for people "literally dying in the streets" and said the new government had been given a mandate in the election to overcome the "crime crisis," the Guardian reported.
"This crisis situation requires a crisis solution," Maley said. "This is a serious matter, caused by you, and we're going to fix it, because that's what Territorians want."
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said the law would allow the government to intercede 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, according to the Australian Broadcasting Company.
"We have this obligation to the child who has been let down in a number of ways, over a long period of time," Finocchiaro said. "And we have [an obligation to] the people who just want to be safe, people who don't want to live in fear anymore."
But critics said the legislation will have a devastating effect, especially on Aboriginal children, "dooming" them to a "life of disadvantage, reduced opportunities and poorer education outcomes," said opposition leader Salena Uibo.
"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," Uibo said, ABC reported.
"We want to see children held accountable for bad behavior but then supported to get on a better path, to re-engage with school," she continued.
Anne Hollonds, the Australian National Children's Commissioner, urged lawmakers to reconsider the legislation.
"We all want to live in safe communities, but this plan by the NT government goes against what all the evidence has shown we need to do to achieve that. It is absolutely critical that they reconsider," Hollonds said Friday, the Guardian reported.
National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said the passing of legislation in the Northern Territory that will see children as young as ten jailed will not stop youth offending or make the community safer.
— Australian Human Rights Commission (@AusHumanRights) October 18, 2024
Read the full statement: https://t.co/Zh6H3voWIE pic.twitter.com/tB8RX7jPRB
"The younger a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more likely they will go on to commit more serious and violent crimes," she said.
"Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years will not make communities safer, it will only see rates of child offending increase. These are primary school age children, and harsh, punitive responses are not the answer," she said.
