Good morning. An investigation by the Guardian reveals how the New South Wales government rejected calls by legal groups to replace Covid fines issued to children about 3,000 children with cautions. And in the UK, the Conservative leadership battle has been whittled down to the final two contenders.
The NSW government privately suggested children as young as 10 could be placed in an unpaid work program or on “extended payment plans” to help them pay off fines of about $1,000 for breaching Covid rules, prompting outrage from the state’s community legal centres. Revenue NSW has confirmed that work and development orders (WDOs) – which allow participants to reduce fines through unpaid work, counselling, courses or treatment programs – had been used for those under the age of 18 for Covid rule breaches. Earlier this year, an alliance of legal groups wrote to the premier calling for Covid fines to be withdrawn for children aged 10 to 17 and replaced with cautions. The chief commissioner of state revenue said Revenue NSW would instead seek to work more closely with vulnerable young people, suggesting children could be put on payment plans or work orders to help repay the debt.
