Ben Smee and Eden Gillespie report in The Guardian (25.8.23) on the Palaszczuk government’s unexpected changes to the Youth Justice Act, explaining how the Human Rights Act could be suspended to allow children to remain detained in Queensland police watch houses.
‘Queensland Labor MPs found out on Monday that they were expected to vote to suspend the state’s Human Rights Act, for a second time, to allow for the indefinite detention of children in adult police watch houses.
‘No one else seemed to have any warning. On Wednesday afternoon – on a particularly dreary day in state parliament – the police minister, Mark Ryan, tacked the law change on to an unrelated child safety bill, allowing it to pass through parliament the following day with no committee scrutiny.
‘So why the secrecy and urgency? Behind the scenes, concerns had been mounting within youth justice circles about “a potential Robodebt situation”, sources say, following concessions in a recent court case that the practice of keeping children in watch houses for extended periods might not be lawful.
‘… Youth organisations say other options exist and would have been supported by the sector – such as keeping children temporarily in hotels or at the white elephant quarantine camp at Wellcamp.’
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- Queensland premier defends decision to fast-track proposed changes allowing police watch houses to detain children
- ‘Absolute dog act’: Queensland Labor criticised for shock move to override state’s Human Rights Act
- ‘Farm animals with better legal protection’: Queensland’s new child watch house laws pilloried
- Queensland government rejects criticism over child detention legislation
- ‘Find a better way’: Labor MP speaks out on youth held in watch houses
- Queensland’s darkest hours: Government comes under stinging attack over youth crime laws
- Queensland’s watch house laws are a grotesque affront to decency and an immediate danger to children
- Children unlawfully detained in Queensland’s police watch houses blocked from suing
- Strip searches and suicide attempts: the reality for children in Queensland watch houses
- ‘I’ll never forget’: after 32 days without sunlight in a Queensland watch house, Nick’s hair was falling out
- The Palaszczuk government has become engulfed in a political storm of its own making
- ‘Abandon the madness’: Qld govt defends youth crime laws after ex-judge’s plea
- Qld’s new laws allowing children to be locked in adult watch houses could spark a class action lawsuit
- The sudden removal of children’s human rights proves – yet again – why Queensland needs an upper house
- Queensland is not only trampling the rights of children, it is setting a concerning legal precedent
- Labor MPs incensed by letter they say contradicts Queensland’s stated reason for suspending Human Rights Act
- Growing calls for Qld Labor to back down on youth justice measures
- United Nations Committee Against Torture alerted to Queensland government watch house law changes
- Queensland may face damages bill for unlawful detention of children in watch houses, lawyers say
- Queensland to create watch house for children amid fears of looming ‘human rights disaster’
- Queensland promises child remand centre in Brisbane amid ‘Band-Aid solution’ criticism
- Qld to splash up to $250m on third children’s prison to fix capacity