The Liberals’ latest move to “crack down” on youth crime is yet more evidence they’ve abandoned their commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.
The human rights of children and young people were a central focus of the Commission of Inquiry. Instead of better protecting these fundamental rights, the Liberal Government is moving to strip legal protections away from young people.
The Liberals have committed to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14, as was recommended in the Commission of Inquiry. Their new “tough on crime” announcements reducing the legal protections for young people are completely incompatible with this.
Jeremy Rockliff needs to be honest with Tasmanians. Has his government abandoned the recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry? Are they still committed to raising the age of criminal responsibility?
Where do Labor stand? Will they implement the Commission of Inquiry recommendations, or will they be following the Liberals’ draconian approach to youth crime? Tasmanians deserve to know before they go to the polls.
It’s important to keep the community safe, but this can only be done with evidence-based solutions. “Tough on crime” approaches just don’t work. If we want to see change, what we need is support for at-risk families to reduce the causes of crime, and therapeutic approaches to justice.
It’s long past time the recommendations from the Commission of Inquiry were implemented. With the Greens in the balance of power, we’ll fight for evidence-based and trauma-informed approaches to youth justice which ensure the safety of Tasmania’s children and community members.
