The Queensland government will introduce legislation today to expand its youth crime laws, after an expert panel found the states, laws should be broadened to include more offences. Experts have suggested that numerous crimes such as attempted murder, arson and torture should be added to the ‘adult crime, adult time’ laws.
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00:00Well, this second phase of the legislation was actually triggered earlier in the year
00:06when a 13-year-old boy had allegedly stabbed and attacked a coals worker with a knife in
00:12Yamanto, Ipswich, south of Brisbane.
00:14Now, at the time, the Premier's flagship laws didn't actually encapsulate attempted murder,
00:20so there was, of course, backlash, and in response, the State Government established
00:24back in February this five-person expert panel which reviewed and expanded the framework.
00:31So today, these changes have largely come from those recommendations.
00:35There are more than a dozen offences that have been included to the pre-existing legislation.
00:39Among those includes rape, attempted murder, torture, as well as arson.
00:44Now, the ABC can also reveal that trafficking of dangerous drugs and the ramming of police
00:50vehicles have also been added to this list.
00:53And this all comes after the first tranche of these laws was first introduced and passed
00:58through Parliament back in December last year, and that first iteration included the offence
01:02of murder and manslaughter, but it was all part of the LNP Government's pre-election
01:08promise to deliver these adult crime, adult time laws within the first 100 days in office.
01:13Already, we've heard from the State's opposition, which has criticised these changes and says
01:18that it is evidence that, effectively, these laws were rushed through Parliament.
01:23Now, if any juvenile is found guilty of these crimes, they will face an adult trial where
01:29they will also have much harsher penalties implemented.
01:32Today, these amendments will be introduced into Parliament before they will be debated
01:37and then become law.