The Youth Justice Reform Select Committee was disbanded late Wednesday during a Parliamentary session after the committee failed to agree on an interim report, according to media reports.
Mena Waller, Queensland State Director of 54 reasons, said it was deeply disappointing that the committee examining youth justice in Queensland had been dissolved, and raised questions about politicians’ commitment to improving the system.
“When it comes to youth justice in this state, we desperately need politicians to take politics out of policy. Unless that happens, we will continue to see systematic breaches of children’s rights in the system and people left feeling unsafe in their communities,” Ms Waller said.
“Time and time again, we are seeing children affected by circumstances outside their control – from poverty to racism – and further punished by a justice system designed to penalise, not rehabilitate. Now, politicians have let down Queensland children again by walking away from a mechanism that could have been the catalyst for real change for children, victims, and communities across the state.”
