“The Premier said he had a responsibility to be the most progressive state when he spoke about raising the age of criminal responsibility earlier this year. Quotes from Nerita Waight, CEO of Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service: There is now no excuse whatsoever why all state and territory governments do not now support Aboriginal led designed and delivery of culturally responsive diversionary programs to break the intergenerational cycle of incarceration for our younger generations." We advocate strongly that the Victorian government commit to raising the age to 14, particularly as the Federal government has committed $81.5 million to justice reinvestment.
“If the Victorian government announces an increase to the age of criminal responsibility to 12, it will not make any real difference to the already high and unacceptable rates of Aboriginal youth overrepresentation in the legal system.
Quotes from Cheryl Axleby, Co-Chair, Change the Record: Today’s decision is a betrayal of Victoria’s children, especially those who have been victims of poverty, violence and abuse.Īs a campaign made up of 100+ organisations and over 65,700 Victorians, we will not stop demanding change until the Andrews Government takes action to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old. Instead of locking up kids in prison, Premier Andrews and the Victorian Government should fund community-led solutions which keep the community safe and has better outcomes for children. Prison has devastating and lifelong impacts on children’s and young people’s health, development, mental health and wellbeing.Įvidence shows that the earlier a child is locked up in jail, the more the child is at risk of being entrenched in the justice system and re-offending later in life. They should be in our schoolyards and with their families, not locked up behind bars. No 12 year old child should grow up in prison.ġ2 and 13-year-olds should be finishing primary school and starting high school. Anything less than 14 will continue to be an abject failure by the Andrews Government to uphold the human rights of children and young people in Victoria.Īboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, health, legal, youth, community and human rights organisations call on Premier Andrews to act on the recommendations provided from numerous parliamentary inquiries, United Nations benchmarking, medical advice, and Aboriginal experts, and raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. Raising the age to 14 is the absolute bare minimum reform the Andrews Government must make. Keeping the age of criminal responsibility as low as 12 would be a cop-out and a failure by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes for the children locked up behind bars, and the children who will be exposed to the criminal legal system in the future.
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