The NT's new Country Liberal Party government has passed legislation to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 12 to 10. It comes just a day after the government pushed through tougher bail laws and extra powers for police.

In short:

The Northern Territory has passed new laws that lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10, about two years after the previous government raised the age to 12.

It comes a day after the Country Liberal Party government pushed through tougher bail legislation and extra powers for police as part of a suite of law and order changes.

What’s next?

New laws on public drinking and assaults on workers are expected to pass when parliament resumes next week.

  • Gorgritch_Umie_Killa
    2·
    1 month ago

    so why not?

    Did you mean, why not criminalise them?

    If so, because theres lots of experiential evidence that it doesn’t work to change criminal behaviour, and as drag alludes to, plenty of evidence now that the criminalised children are locked into a cycle of crime throughout their life.

    Their life of crime becomes a cost to you and I, and all those who are victims of their shit behaviour, as well as the State. Its a cost i’d rather pay once through proven crime prevention pathways.

    And the above only considers their direct impacts on people personally not even to consider the moral, humanist, or economically efficient use of a nations resources as elements here.

    • Wheres the CLP’s case that a policy like this is going to work this time?

    • What are their targets for acheiving the change?

    • If those targets aren’t met and peoples cars are still getting stolen, or worse, will they own their policy mistakes, or will they blithely double down on this flawed and absolutist policy?