One Nation says the government’s own Youth Justice Blueprint will make more youth crime “impossible to prosecute”.
The Blueprint commits to raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 without exception and the minimum age of detention to 16, by July 2029.
One Nation Tasmania Leader Lee Hanson said a 13-year-old could commit murder and face no criminal prosecution under the plan.
“No exception for the seriousness of the crime. No exception for the harm done,” she said.
“The victim is no less a victim because the offender is 13.”
Hanson said that meant detention would be off the table for a 15-year-old charged with a violent home invasion.
“The government promises alternatives. Where are they? What powers will they have? And who answers for it when they fail?” she said.
One Nation would keep the age of criminal responsibility at 10, remove “detention as a last resort” from the Youth Justice Act and bring in electronic monitoring and curfews for serious offences.
Tasmania Police data shows 64 individuals accounted for half of all youth crime charges last year.
Hanson challenged Premier Jeremy Rockliff to say whether he was “keeping the Blueprint’s commitments or abandoning them”.
Asked on Tuesday whether the Blueprint’s approach was still the best solution, Rockliff said the government needed to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime”.
“We need to support young people to be better people and that’s why we have a Youth Justice Blueprint,” he said.
He did not directly say whether the government would proceed with raising the age, but said people should not “label young people in such a way as others do”.
“Young people contribute enormously and very positively to our community. Others, of course, need supporting to be more productive members of our community,” he said.
“The justice system has a role to play and that’s where it’s important to be tough on the causes of crime and tough on the crime itself.”
Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said the Blueprint was “evidence-based” and backed by both Labor and the government.
She said there was “extensive evidence around the types of youth justice approaches that will reduce reoffending”, whether or not they involved detention.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their workplace, in their home and in their local community,” Lovell said.
It comes after a month of alleged youth offending across Hobart, including six children aged 12 and 13 arrested over assaults in the CBD.
Teenagers have also been charged over an alleged attack on retired police officer Phil Pyke, 62, in Claremont, a knife incident in the CBD and an $11,000 stealing spree.
The Blueprint followed the Commission of Inquiry, which also recommended raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 without exception.
