NSW petition to raise the age gets 63,000 signatures
11 August 2022 at 11:36 am
Following a two-year campaign, New South Wales leaders push to raise the age of incarceration for minors.
The Aboriginal Legal Service is presenting a petition with more than 63,000 signatories to raise the legal age of responsibility in New South Wales to parliamentarians today.
NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman, Labor representative Michael Daley and Greens representative Sue Higginson will receive the petition following two years of advocacy on the issue.
Signatories include NSW residents, lawyers and justice advocates.
The Aboriginal Legal Service argues the legal age of responsibility should be raised to “at least 14 years of age” with children as young as 10 years old facing jail in the state.
Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Karly Warner said it is basic decency and common sense that children need support, love and second chances.
“They belong in their homes, in schools and in playgrounds, not behind bars,” she said.
Public Interest Advocacy Centre CEO Jonathon Hunyor said locking up children fails our community.
“The verdict from medical, legal and child development experts is clear: criminalising children causes lifelong harm,” he said.
In March, a NSW budget estimates hearing revealed 293 children aged between 11 and 13 had spent time in custody in 2021. More than half of these children were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
