Youth crime and punishment have become primary political issues in the Sunshine State. Photo: Anna Stills.
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) has called upon the Queensland Crisafulli Government to strengthen human rights protections to improve the lives of Queenslanders following a review of the state’s Human Rights Act.
Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington has rejected all of the 70 recommendations provided in the review. The recommendations included protecting the right to housing, a healthy environment and the right to live free from gender-based violence.
Other recommendations included allowing people to use independent legal action to seek justice, requiring all laws to be consistent with human rights by removing the override provision, expanding the scope of human rights and requiring consultation with affected people from “decision makers”.
The HRLC said the Crisafulli Government had overridden the Queensland Human Rights Act by passing what it described as “discriminatory” laws with the intent to “lock up even more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children for longer”.
The government’s Adult Crime, Adult Time policy was a centrepiece of its campaign in the last election, and new expansions of the laws have drawn criticism from Shadow Attorney-General Meaghan Scanlon for being “rushed”.
“It is deeply disappointing that the Crisafulli Government has rejected recommendations that would have strengthened human rights protections for everyone in Queensland,” HRLC CEO Caitlin Reiger said.
“The Crisafulli Government’s blatant disregard for the dignity, equality and freedom of people in Queensland should be of concern to everyone.
”This is the same government that overrode Queensland’s Human Rights Act last year to rush through dangerous laws to lock up children for longer, and has indefinitely postponed improvements to Queensland’s discrimination law.”
The LNP Government said its policy would keep Queenslanders safe and ensure victims were heard.
Premier David Crisafulli went so far as to say that previous Labor policies “tipped the balance of power back in favour of the offender instead of the victim”.
The issue has proved contentious, with similar policy discussions regarding youth crime taking centre stage in the Northern Territory, most dramatically when Alice Springs was placed under curfew in 2024.
