2016-09-07
The Queensland Greens have welcomed today's announcement by the state Premier that the government is finally moving to end the practice of putting 17-year-olds in jails with adults, and called on the Liberal National Party to state their support.
Greens spokesperson Andrew Bartlett said, "Premier Palaszczuk has rightly said that this move is long overdue. Both Liberal and Labor have previously failed to act to make this simple but important change. The Liberals should state their in-principle support for it now."
The Greens also welcome the announcement of the two independent experts conducting the review of Queensland's youth justice system, saying Prof Megan Davis and Kathryn McMillan QC were well suited to the task.
"The Greens call on those conducting the review to take as broad as possible an interpretation of the announced terms of the reference to ensure the consideration of the fundamental question of whether youth detention itself is ever the best approach to take towards children."
For further comment, contact Andrew Bartlett on 0418 743 789.