Age of Criminal Responsibility

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Attorney-General on the topic of the age of criminal responsibility.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Recent media has highlighted the number of youth cases being dealt with in the Youth Court, with the opposition claiming that this is a result of a so-called increase in youth crime. This has been publicly disputed by the police commissioner, who disagrees that youth crime is worse than in previous years. In response, the new police minister, the Hon. Stephen Mullighan MP, has ruled out raising the age of criminal responsibility and stated that the government was investing in police, courts and prisons rather than in diversion and rehabilitation measures.

South Australia's Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, has said that the suggestion to strengthen laws for youth offenders will further criminalise children who instead need support. Last week, she told the National Indigenous Times that, and I quote:

We know that children and young people in youth justice have often experienced serious trauma and abuse in their lives. If they lose their way and are engaged in behaviours that make our communities unsafe, telling children they bear all the responsibility is a cop out.

On 20 February this year, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners published an article reaffirming their support for raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years. Dr Tim Jones, who is the chair of Specific Interest Groups—Child and Young Person's Health, stated:

If we incarcerate our children, we are telling them we don't believe they are savable, that things can't get better. We know that children who are given appropriate support, who are provided with the ingredients they need to get ahead, are resourceful and will get there. We know that kids who go into the justice system tend not to exit it, so that's why it's a health issue.

My question to the Attorney-General therefore is:

1. Why has the government caved-in to the Liberal Party's scare campaign and ruled out raising the age of criminal responsibility?

2. What is the Malinauskas government doing to prevent kids as young as 10 years old from entering the criminal justice system in the first place?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (14:47): I thank the honourable member for his question. I might, in starting to answer the question, reflect very quickly on the rate of youth offending in South Australia.

As the honourable member points out, there has been some concern. Any offending by anyone should be of concern, and anything that impinges on public safety is of course a concern. But some comfort should be taken that in 2022-23, according to the statistics that I have, South Australia's rate of youth offending was the second lowest in the nation, only behind the Australian Capital Territory. I believe, and I will double-check, that the most common offence is breach of bail, which generally isn't an offence against a person or property.

In relation to the minimum age of criminal responsibility, I have made it very clear a number of times in this place and outside of this place that we remain open to looking at anything that can make the community safer. There was a discussion paper released a year ago, and there had previously been papers written that were under the auspices of the former Liberal government at a national level through the Standing Council of Attorneys-General, looking at if the age were raised what conditions you would put in place.

I note that certainly Victoria and the ACT have gone down this path. Certainly, we remain open to anything that makes the community safer. Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility is not a policy that we have ever said we will support. As I said, we are open to looking at what could make the community safer, and we continue to look at the evidence, but as I said it is not a priority at this moment.