The National Network strongly condemns the Queensland Liberal National Party’s (LNP) recent announcement of the ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ policy, a key part of their ‘Making Our Community Safer’ plan for the upcoming Queensland elections.
‘This policy purports to make our community safer, but what it really represents is a direct attack on First Nations children and young people, targeting some of the most vulnerable members of our community,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘The Queensland LNP is borrowing this policy from the United States of America, where it has been proven to be a failed approach. Across the USA, we are now witnessing a shift away from harsh sentencing policies which have led to increased incarceration rates without improving public safety,’ said Tabitha Lean. ‘The USA experience has shown that these policies do not reduce crime but instead perpetuate cycles of criminalisation, particularly among marginalised communities, and that’s what we will see here if the LNP get in and implement this flawed policy,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘Research consistently shows that increased punishment and imprisonment does not reduce criminalisation; rather, they exacerbate it,’ said Debbie Kilroy. ‘Many of the children targeted by the criminal legal system are themselves victims—victims of colonisation and systemic failures. These are children who have been failed by the very systems meant to protect them, many of whom have the state as their parent or guardian. Instead of receiving the support they need, they are now being used as scapegoats for populist policies and desperate politicians scrambling to be elected off the backs of children’s futures,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘We need to invest in our children, not imprison them. Properly funded services, access to education and healthcare, affordable and stable housing—these are the tools that will keep our communities safe, not harsher sentences, said Debbie Kilroy. ‘Addressing the socio-economic and environmental factors that lead to criminalisation, including the over-policing of certain populations, is where our focus should be,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
‘We cannot incarcerate ourselves out of social problems, and we are failing our children if we persist in sequestering them away in cages, away from their families, classrooms, and communities,’ said Tabitha Lean. ‘The LNP’s policy does nothing to address the root causes of crime. Instead, it perpetuates a cycle of criminalisation that traps children in the system. There are better ways to support our children—ways that recognise their potential and provide them with the love, care, and opportunities they deserve,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘Politicians need to stop using our children as political footballs to score points with the voters and start proposing real solutions that add value to our community and do our children no harm,’ said Tabitha Lean.
‘Our children are our future, and they deserve love and care, not punishment and exile. We are failing them if we lock them up and throw away the key,’ said Debbie Kilroy.
The National Network calls on the Queensland LNP to withdraw this harmful policy and instead invest in the well-being of our children and communities.
For further comment, please contact Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226 or Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474
