Queensland’s latest watch house laws have been blasted by almost 200 human rights advocates and organisations in an open letter.
The letter, sent on August 25 and addressed to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Police and Corrective Services Mark Ryan, condemns the state government for their decision to override the Human Rights Act to “allow adults watch houses to be used as youth detention centres” until 2026.
The legislation was pushed through on Thursday night and will enable children ten years old and above to be held indefinitely in detention.
The 180 organisations and advocates note they are “vehemently opposed” to the “willingness and determination” of the government to “continue to impose punitive and carceral solutions onto vulnerable and marginalised children”.
“These changes in law undeniably violate children's rights and exacerbate the human rights emergency in Queensland's already broken youth justice system that disproportionately affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children,” they wrote.
Currently, as found by the Productivity Commission’s report into Government Services, 65 per cent of the youth prison population in Queensland are Indigenous.
Signatories allege that by passing the legislation the state is in violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Convention Against Torture.
The letter, which was coordinated by Change the Record, asks the government to repeal the amendments, ensure youth detention practices adhere to UN conventions, implement independent oversight of all youth detention facilities and invest in alternatives to incarceration.
“At multiple junctures, the government had options available to help and support our kids, but instead they have opted for a punitive path that has led to the crisis we are currently seeing in Queensland,” said Change the Record Director Maggie Munn.
“The Palaszczuk government has demonstrated a dangerous and prolonged track record for disregarding parliamentary process and violating human rights that is unprecedented in Australia.
“All Australians, regardless of where you live, should be alarmed by this government’s actions that undermine our fundamental human rights.”
Change the Record's Maggie Munn has slammed the Queensland Government. Credit: NITV The Point
“Their lives are not a game where adults in power can use them to perpetrate harm. The legislation that allows the prolonged caging of children in watch houses and adult prisons will ensure harm for all the children and the community for generations to come,” she said.
“What’s most appalling is the government knows this and they still pushed the legislation through in 24 hours. This government is concerned about their political future, not community safety.”
