Backflip on age laws to quell alarm over youth crime

Victoria has caved in to mounting youth crime concerns, moving to beef-up bail laws and backflipping on a promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Premier Jacinta Allan announced the policy reversal on Tuesday before debate on a 942-page youth justice bill in the upper house. The legislation will still raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12. Under former premier Daniel Andrews, the government pledged in 2023 to lift the age to 14 by 2027, with exceptions for serious offences such as murder and terrorism. But following a series of prominent incidents involving youth offenders, including two fatal car crashes in the past two months, Ms Allan said it would remain at 12 years. "This decision has been made at a different time by a different government with a different premier," she told reporters. Children as young as 10 can be charged, convicted and imprisoned across Australia, except in the Northern Territory, which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 12 in August 2023. The ACT passed legislation to raise the age to 14 by 2025 with some exceptions, while Tasmania has pledged to raise the minimum age of criminal detention to 14. No children under 14 are incarcerated in Victoria and the premier said passing the youth justice bill would keep it that way. Her government will move amendments to the bill this week, including changes to the Bail Act so people will be kept on remand if they pose an "unacceptable risk" of committing offences such as aggravated burglary, carjacking, dangerous driving or family violence. It will also be made an offence for adults and children to commit a serious offence while on bail. Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes argued the new offence was different from the one of committing an indictable offence while on bail that was repealed in March. "It was remanding vulnerable cohorts," she said. "What we're bringing back is an offence for committing high-end serious harm." Standing alongside the premier on Tuesday, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton welcomed the targeting of dangerous driving, aggravated burglary, home invasion and armed robbery. "These are the offences we want to protect the community from and this will give us the power and the authority to do it," he said. Victoria Police and its union have lobbied against the government raising the age to 14. Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said police members were growing frustrated by the constant yo-yo of tightening and loosening laws. But the raising the age backdown has led to fierce backlash from Indigenous, legal and youth groups. Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight labelled the decision "treacherous", while Yoorrook Justice Commission chair Eleanor Bourke said it would unleash a "tsunami of disappointment" among their communities. The First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, Aboriginal Justice Caucus, Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, Human Rights Commission, Save the Children, Jesuit Social Services and Victorian Greens criticised the call. Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the about-face and extra legislative changes were more evidence of a government mired in chaos and dysfunction. "It has no direction, it has no purpose and its objectives for Victorians are totally unclear," he said. Police are still searching for the driver of a stolen BMW that struck and killed 19-year-old motorcyclist Davide Pollina at Preston on Sunday. A 16-year-old boy suspected passenger of the BMW was arrested before being released. William Taylor, 28, and GP Ashley Gordon were killed in July and January respectively following incidents allegedly involving teenagers.