Australia’s youth justice and child protection systems are in crisis, a Senate inquiry has been told, with witnesses warning that tough-on-crime policies are being driven by media narratives rather than evidence and are failing to improve community safety.
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The federal government has previously maintained youth justice settings — including the minimum age of criminal responsibility — are matters for states and territories.
However, legal advice obtained last year by the Justice and Equity Centre from barristers Kate Eastman AM SC and Emma Dunlop found the Commonwealth could intervene under section 51(xxix) of the Constitution in order to meet its international human rights obligations.
