Age of criminal responsibility
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:15): (456) My question is to the Attorney-General in relation to the age of criminal responsibility and progressing youth justice reform. Attorney, you have shared that the government chooses not to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 sooner than your announced time line, as First Nations, legal and human rights stakeholders have been calling for. Those stakeholders have made it very clear that much policy work for alternative service models has already been completed, outlined in reports such as those from the Koorie Youth Council, the Commission for Children and Young People and of course the Yoorrook Justice Commission. As well, many alternative service models are currently operational on the ground, and they just need more support and funding. Attorney, what is your response to these stakeholders that believe it is disingenuous to claim to need years to develop alternative service models before raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 when those models are in large part already developed?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:16): Sorry for the delay; I was just conferring with the Minister for Children. Much of your question goes to the development of the alternative service model, and the Minister for Children and the Minister for Youth Justice have carriage of that area of policy development. But obviously we work very closely, so I can provide you some information, particularly as we have an independent review panel that is undertaking that work. They are very active in their consultation with stakeholders, multicultural groups and health and education departments, and I can assure you that all of the material and bodies that you referenced have been fed into the work that this review panel will do. That panel consists of chair Patricia Faulkner, former secretary of the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services and also chair of Jesuit Social Services, and Andrew Crisp, who I think is known to everyone in the chamber. He is really excited about his next venture in terms of contributing to government policy, particularly that which supports young people. Andrew Jackomos was a member of the panel, and he has recently gone off to the Treaty Authority. He has been replaced by a really impressive young Koorie woman, Bonnie Dukakis, and she is from the Koorie Youth Council. Her input is invaluable. We also have Father Joseph Caddy, a former prison chaplain and vicar-general of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne and former chief executive officer of CatholicCare, and Lisa Ward, who is the deputy chair of the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council and director of the Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders.
It is a really impressive group of people who are going to provide advice to government on not only the evidence and research that you have indicated but how to indeed make that a reality for government policy in relation to ensuring that more and more people are diverted away from the youth justice system. Question time is not the opportunity to legislate, but I reaffirm the government’s commitment to bringing in legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 this year, and we will have an opportunity to review and debate that bill in due course. At the same time government is concurrently developing the alternative service model, as I have indicated, to support that important work.
Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:19): I thank the Attorney for providing all of that information, acknowledging the work does span multiple portfolios. I appreciate that. Attorney, can you give some indication of when the independent review panel will conclude the consultation phase, the time lines around the provision of its recommendations to government and when those might be made public?
Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:20): Ms Copsey, I was trying to be really helpful on the first question, but this panel does not report to me. It is important work, it is ongoing and it will inform current and future policy development. We expect this to be a body that has genuine and continual access to both the Minister for Children and the Minister for Youth Justice, and I am really keen to engage with them as well. They are on the ground talking to a lot of people. If they have ideas and suggestions outside of just developing an alternative service model, we are all ears. I know that they are particularly interested in the intersection of health and education and how those programs can support people to be diverted away from the justice system. I am excited about their work. I think it will be not just a final report but a valuable source of guidance and advice to government across the board.