Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I was in continuation earlier today for the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People Bill 2026, as well as the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026, and I was making the point that the establishment of this commissioner, whilst it could be a positive thing, has some really disappointing gaps in it. One gap is the obligation on governments to actually respond to the recommendations made by the commissioner. The only thing compelling governments to comply with the requests is that they'll be named in the commissioner's annual report if they don't. That doesn't seem like much of an encouragement, in particular, if you look at the track record of this government and, frankly, any government in years gone by. This role is needed because successive governments have failed to do enough on the key issues that affect the health and wellbeing of First Nations kids. We know that, without an obligation to respond to recommendations of the commission, the government will have no impetus to actually take any of it seriously or take any action whatsoever, and we'll see more First Nations kids die in custody.

Earlier, I proposed an amendment to the bill. It's a committee-stage amendment to hold the government accountable for action. The amendment would require the government to formally respond to any recommendations made by the national commissioner. I understand that the government is not going to support that amendment. When I asked the government why it would not support a requirement to respond to recommendations, the reason the government gave was that it doesn't have to respond to recommendations from commissioners in the Human Rights Joint Committee either—as if that, somehow, was a plausible reason for having zero accountability. Perhaps it's the lack of such a requirement to respond that explains why we have an anti-racism framework that has been gathering dust, has not been implemented and has not been funded. And maybe it explains why, despite all of the evidence of harm to children in detention and all of the calls from national and international experts to raise the age of criminal responsibility, there has been no national leadership on this issue and on the consistent attacks on human rights led by many state and territory governments—Queensland, in particular, which is where I'm from, and the Northern Territory.

The commissioner's role is to undertake comprehensive reviews of key issues, to consult widely with communities about solutions and to provide practical recommendations for the government to consider. After communities have worked to collectively inform a report, where young people will have shared their often traumatic stories in the hope that it provokes changes, requiring the government to respond to the recommendations is the least that communities should expect. My amendment would make that happen, and I'll be looking forward to the vote on that. I hope that the government has a change of heart, shows some decency and supports it. Getting a response from government should not depend on how compelling the commissioner is, or whether or not she can attract media attention, or whether or not the issue is politically timely, or whether or not the solutions are politically palatable. The government should have a legislative obligation to respond. This doesn't bind them to adopt the recommendations, but it does require them to actively consider the recommendation and provide a justification for why they won't act.

This bill to create the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People has the potential to catalyse impactful actions to reverse the overrepresentation of First Nations kids in prison and out-of-home care. I urge the government not to squander this potential and to commit to responding when the commissioner screams for action. I'd like to take the chance to move my second reading amendment, which has been circulated in the chamber:

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) incarceration of children causes long-term harm to their development, safety and wellbeing,

(ii) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are significantly over-represented in youth detention and are 20 times more likely to be in custody than non-Indigenous children due to a range of factors,

(iii) reducing over-representation of First Nations young people in the justice system is a key target of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap,

(iv) in response to the over-representation and long-term harm of detention for First Nations children, human rights experts, medical and legal bodies and 40 countries in the latest United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review, have called on Australia to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old; and

(b) calls on Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility for all children to at least 14 years of age".

This amendment is essentially to raise the age of criminal responsibility. We know that incarceration of children causes long-term harm to their development, their safety and their wellbeing. We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids are 20 times more likely to be in custody than non-Indigenous kids due to a range of factors, including systemic racism and over-policing.

The amendment notes the overrepresentation of First Nations people, and closing that gap is meant to be one of the key targets to Closing the Gap, which is yet another gap that is not closing thanks to the tepid commitment of this government. It notes that human rights experts, medical and legal bodies and over 40 countries in the latest UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review have all called on Australia to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14. My amendment calls on the Commonwealth, as well as states and territories, to commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility for all children to at least 14. I commend that second reading amendment to the chamber.