INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES
I believe an inclusive community is a strong and safe community.
In Australia we talk about giving each other a ‘fair go’. But many people in our community do not feel like they belong. Connection and inclusivity are hallmarks of happy communities - improving community networks helps reduce isolation and exclusion.
Australia has always been a diverse nation and diversity is our strength. We need to go beyond knowing morally that diversity is important. Diversity of background, perspective, age and gender supports community and secures its future growth.
Juvenile Incarceration and the Age of Criminal Responsibility
On 23 November 2022 in Question Time, I asked the Attorney General if he will make public a report (prepared in 2020) by the Council of Attorneys-General, that allegedly shows the majority of State and Territory AGs were in favour of raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years.
Our juvenile justice system is failing on every front. Our current approach is not making the community safer - we are turning troubled kids into hardened criminals.
