This week, the Senate has been advised to consider the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Reference Committee’s report on the youth justice and incarceration system in Australia, during the 48th Parliament.
The report features submissions from UNSW experts including Dr Noam Peleg, Ms Peta MacGillivray, and Dr Lisa Ewenson.
Associate Professor Noam Peleg
Dr Peleg is a leading expert in international children’s rights law and human rights law at UNSW Law & Justice. He can speak to how Australia is failing to uphold the international human rights treaties it has agreed upon. Contact: [email protected]
“The harm that the criminal law system causes to children in Australia is horrifying. Australia is not meeting its commitment to international treaties on the rights, safety and well-being of children. If anything, new laws and policies have moved further away from compliance, with some jurisdictions inevitably causing greater pain to disadvantaged children. Sending primary school children to jail doesn't make anyone safe, and it harms children, families and the communities. The government can and must take accountability.”
Ms Peta MacGillivray
Ms MacGillivray is a Senior Research Fellow with the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership at UNSW Sydney, and a former Legal Aid NSW’s Children’s Civil Law Service lawyer. She can speak to the experiences of First Nations children and harm reduction programs. Contact: [email protected]
“The Children’s Court is a sausage factory for kids with disabilities, whether they’re Indigenous or not, but we know that 45% of all children and 48.7% of Indigenous children in the NSW criminal law system have a disability they need support for. Indigenous kids as young as eight are coming into contact with the Police, on a trajectory that is entirely predictable, and entirely preventable. The system is actually causing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children.”
Dr Lisa Ewenson
Dr Ewenson is a Research Associate at UNSW Sydney, and a former Victorian Government Senior Policy and Legal Advisor on youth justice and detention. She can speak to key findings in the extensive, existing research into youth detention. Contact: [email protected]
“Youth justice detention centres across Australia are not safe places for young people. The criminal justice system does not address the known factors leading children into criminalisation, nor does the system prevent children from re-offending. Australia should learn from countries like Scotland, where youth justice detention centres have been completely abolished.”