Queensland’s deputy premier, Steven Miles, has been accused of engaging in a “disgraceful” breach of the separation of powers for claiming the safety of residents was being “held to ransom by rogue courts and rogue justices”.
At a press conference on Friday, Miles said a decision by a Townsville magistrate to release several children being held on remand in the local watch house was a “media stunt”, prompting fierce pushback from civil liberties veteran Terry O’Gorman.
The court’s decision on Thursday follows increasing human rights concerns expressed by members of the judiciary and others in relation to conditions in adult police watch houses, which are being used by the state to keep Queensland children for extended periods.
The release of what is understood to be 10 children has lit a new fuse beneath a powder keg youth crime debate, where both major political parties are championing more punitive policies that would result in the detention of even more children.
The Queensland police service said on Friday it had begun lodging appeals to “at least some” of the court’s bail decisions, beefing up patrols in Townsville in the meantime.
Miles told reporters he shared the concerns of police.
“Of course our courts are independent and that is a critically important element of our state and the way we administer our state but I can tell you what I think. This media stunt is putting the community of Townsville in danger. It should not be happening.
“We cannot allow the safety of Townsville residents to be held to ransom by rogue courts and rogue justices.”
His comments come after the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, last year accused judges of being too lenient towards juveniles.
O’Gorman, the vice-president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties and a veteran barrister, said experience from overseas showed that government figures attacking members of the judiciary would put the state “on a slippery slope downwards”.
“Miles’ comment as the deputy premier is just a downright disgrace,” O’Gorman said.
“He knows full well, and it’s central to the Labor party’s justice policy, that you do not personally attack a judicial officer, because Miles particularly knows that judges are prohibited from speaking out, as is this particular magistrate. It’s disgraceful and gutless.
“The problem of this Palaszczuk Labor government is they’ve been in power for so long they’ve become arrogant, and felt free to have the second most senior politician in the [state to] engage in a serious breach of the separation of powers.”
Damian Bartholomew, a solicitor for the Youth Advocacy Centre, said members of the judiciary had shown increasing concern about the conditions in watch houses.
“Over the last few weeks, many magistrates and judges have said to me the number of young people being held on remand is unacceptable, but that the judiciary have the discretion if a facility is not suitable for children they can grant them bail,” he said.
The state’s police minister, Mark Ryan, said the service would be appealing “at least some” of the bail decisions to the Queensland supreme court but added he had not seen reasons for the magistrate’s decisions.
“If … the exclusive reason bail was granted is because of capacity, I would suggest that is an unlawful reason,” Ryan said.
Ryan said he expected the supreme court would “do its job, follow the law, and ensure that community safety is prioritised”.
Earlier this week a children’s court magistrate in Mt Isa granted bail to a girl, citing as a concern the likelihood she could end up in a police watch house for an “extended” period. The magistrate, Eoin Mac Giolla Ri, had said in a separate case that housing children in watch houses exposed them to “adult detainees [who] are often drunk, abusive, psychotic or suicidal”.
The Queensland police service on Tuesday revealed more than 25 children had spent more than three weeks in watch houses so far this year. In one reported case, a girl with intellectual disabilities was detained for more than 30 days.
