New laws that suspend Human Rights Act follow court order for urgent transfer of three children held in watch houses for extended periods
by overriding the state’s Human Rights Act, Farmer said the government was prioritising community safety.“No government wishes to override the Human Rights Act,” Farmer said. “What we were doing this week is on the very clear advice of the solicitor general to address what would have been a high-risk issue for young people [by forcing them into overcrowded] detention centres.”
A coalition of social organisations has condemned the amendments, saying they will not make Queensland safer and will only harm disadvantaged and vulnerable children. The state’s human rights commissioner, Scott McDougall, said allowing children as young as 10 to be held indefinitely in “what are essentially concrete boxes” means “The Queensland Council of Social Service chief executive, Aimee McVeigh, said Queenslanders should not have to choose between community safety and “the legal rights of children”.
“As a sophisticated society, we should be able to do both,” she said. “Evidence shows us that the younger a child is when they are detained, the more likely they are to go on and commit offences. Watch houses are not an appropriate solution.”
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