The Northern Territory has officially lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 10, reversing a previous increase to 12 enacted by the former Labor government.
This decision was made during the first week of the new Country Liberal Party (CLP) government.
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Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro defended the move, claiming it allows for earlier intervention in the lives of at-risk children.
She stated that no child is born a criminal and that systemic failures contribute to their circumstances.
“No 10 or 11-year-old is born a criminal. There has been systemic failure in these young people’s lives, probably since before they were born,” she said. “And we have an obligation to the people who just want to be safe, people who don’t want to live in fear anymore.”
The legislation is part of a broader package of law and order reforms, including stricter bail conditions under “Declan’s Law,” which aims to enhance public safety by making it harder for certain offenders to receive bail.
However, NT Children’s Commissioner Shahleena Musk expressed concern that this change would increase violent offending among young people.
During an interview with the BBC, she described the change as “structural racism at work in the Northern Territory youth justice system.”
This law has also met with criticism, especially given the Northern Territory’s already high incarceration rates, with many fearing that overcrowded prisons will struggle to accommodate an influx of new inmates.
“I accept that people are fearful in our communities, and crime has been quite prominent in the media and on social media,” she said.
“(But) we shouldn’t be seeing these kids going into a youth justice system that is harmful, ineffective, and only compounds the very issues we’re trying to change.”
Protests against the new laws have emerged, with community leaders and advocates arguing for more supportive measures, like diversionary programs, rather than punitive ones.
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