It is feared that the proposed expansion of Western Australia’s tough mandatory sentencing laws will spark a jump in the number of Aboriginal children in detention, and will do nothing to break the cycle of youth offending.
Human rights advocates say they’re alarmed by the Liberal-National Barnett government’s plan to extend mandatory sentencing laws.
The raft of changes would make it possible for kids as young as 11 to be put in detention for 2 years.
Amnesty International says the laws are discriminatory and that they will essentially target the most vulnerable - Aboriginal children from remote areas with limited access to services.
WA has the highest incarceration rate for Aboriginal youth in the country, and it’s also the only state to have mandatory sentencing laws for children.
Monica Morgan, Manager of the Indigenous Rights Program at Amnesty International Australia, and Peter Collins, Director of Legal Services at the WA Aboriginal Legal Service, have aired their arguments in a radio report offered to 270 community radio stations.