HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Member Index
Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-08-20 Daily Xml
Contents
Xml

Youth Justice Reforms

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:45): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Attorney-General regarding youth justice reforms.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: The National Indigenous Times reports that proposed reforms to South Australia's justice system's treatment of young offenders have drawn the condemnation of Indigenous justice advocates concerned that their implementation would criminalise children, reduce community safety and disproportionately harm Aboriginal children.

Quoted in the article is ALRM Chief Executive Klynton Wanganeen, who warns the proposed legislation risks criminalising children, undermining fundamental legal protections like the presumption of innocence, and allowing police control orders for children as young as 10 based on clothing or unproven associations—something that is also in line with the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure's proposals around barring orders on public transport. Mr Wanganeen has labelled the laws a free pass for our kids to be racially profiled that will lead to more Aboriginal children being thrown into jail.

Meantime, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services General Manager Melissa Clarke suggests our state has entered a race to the bottom by joining other states and territories in practising harmful lawmaking that ignores both evidence and the voice of Indigenous communities. My questions to the Attorney are:

1. Can the minister explain what its proposal around restorative justice will be into the future to guard against overreach and racial profiling, especially of our vulnerable First Nations children?

2. What independent oversight mechanisms or culturally safe complaint processes does this government intend to establish to ensure control orders or policing orders are applied as a last resort?

3. What steps will be taken to involve and empower Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and legal advocacy groups like the ALRM and NATSILS in both policy design and real world implementation?

4. Lastly, will any new funding or programs be introduced to bolster diversion programs, cultural mentoring or trauma-informed care as alternatives to detention, noting, of course, the good work that has been done in that space by the minister to date?

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 her questions. In relation to legislation that follows on and comes out of our youth offender strategy and the round tables that we have had over recent months, in the coming weeks there will be legislation presented to parliament. I will not foreshadow exactly how that legislation will look. Draft legislation has gone out for consultation. A number of groups and organisations, including the State First Nations Voice, who I met with a couple of weeks ago, have put forward their thoughts and some suggestions in relation to legislation, which we are taking into account and we will see something in the coming weeks before parliament.

In relation to restorative justice and justice reinvestment, we have a couple of new trial sites in South Australia in Port Augusta and Murray Bridge as part of the joint work between the federal government and the state government in justice reinvestment, particularly in Aboriginal communities.

In relation to making sure that we have a strong sector to give us the views of particularly Aboriginal justice organisations, I am very pleased that in the latest national Legal Services funding agreement we have seen a very, very significant increase to ALRM's budget in South Australia that will not just allow for the advocacy and policy work that is so valuable that the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in South Australia do but will also increase their coverage around the state in terms of representation for Aboriginal people.

I think the final question touched on diversionary and other programs to try to make sure that people, particularly young people, have less contact with the criminal justice system. We announced a number of months ago, when we released our Young Offender Plan, that there would be a $3 million new investment—new money in terms of programs particularly aimed at those young people who find themselves in significant contact with the criminal justice system.

I think a statistic that the police had was something like just 20 young people were responsible for 11 per cent of the matters before the Youth Court, so the extra $3 million in funding is particularly aimed at providing those intervention programs for those young people who find themselves in very significant contact with the youth justice system.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT