If the age of access to social media can be raised to 14, what about the age of criminal responsibility?

A ten-year-old will no longer be allowed to like a photo of his favorite sports hero on Instagram – but he could still be sent to a youth prison if a bill proposed by the federal government is passed.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that his government would introduce legislation later this year that would set a minimum age for access to social media and other relevant digital platforms.

However, First Nations representatives point out that in some countries children as young as ten can be placed in internment camps.

Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner for the Australian Capital Territory, agreed in a social media post that digital exploitation can cause enormous harm to the most vulnerable.

“But if children are considered too young for the digital landscape, why do we allow them to go to prison?” she wrote.

“If we can raise the technology age, we can certainly ensure that no child or young person is locked up in prison.”

A spokesman for Justice Minister Mark Dreyfus told NITV in a statement that “age of criminal responsibility reform is largely a matter for state and territory governments.”

Mr Albanese said social media laws would be influenced by engagement with states and territories through National Cabinet.

“We know that social media causes social harm and keeps children away from real friends and real experiences,” he said.

“The safety and mental and physical health of our young people are our top priority.”

Spit hoods or spit guards?

But Green Senators Dorinda Cox and David Shoebridge said the federal government's inconsistency on age restrictions was dangerous and that First Nations children would ultimately pay the price.

Senator Cox, a Yamatji Noongar and Green First Nations spokesperson, said the youth justice system is in crisis.

“So he [Albanese] believes that the screen is more harmful than being exposed to a legal system where you are treated with a spit hood and locked up at 10 o'clock?” she said.

“We need to give the same urgent attention to juvenile justice issues that we give to social media issues.

“Children are dying and yet all we hear from this Albanese Labor government is cries of nonsense.

“Why is this an issue that needs to be addressed, but his administration still doesn't want to risk federal intervention in juvenile justice?”

“Unimaginable and tragic”

The umbrella organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services is expecting a dramatic increase in child detention across the country as many governments return to “failed penal policies” and abandon their commitments under the Closing the Gap program.

Karly Warner, chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), said there was already an increase in the number of children being taken into custody.

“And recent history teaches us that the consequences will be unimaginable and tragic,” she said.

“State and territory governments across Australia are ignoring evidence about what prevents crime.

“This means that more and more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are being detained in circumstances that would not be the case for other children, reinforcing structural racism and discrimination that has existed for generations.”

Senator Shoebridge, the Green Party's spokesperson for digital rights and justice, said any politician who cares about child safety must support raising the age of criminal responsibility.

“It's completely perverse that a child of 10 is old enough to go to prison but not mature enough to chat with friends about Fortnite,” he said.

“If children aged 14 or 16 are to be protected from the dangers of social media, then surely they should also be protected at the same age from the irreversible damage of the prison system.

“Pretending that this is not a matter within the remit of the federal parliament is just a convenient excuse for a government that does not want to listen to the evidence and will do anything to shift responsibility.”

Disregard for international recommendations

In 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended setting the age of criminal responsibility at 14.

A 2020 report prepared for the Standing Council of Attorneys General recommended that “Commonwealth, State and Territory governments should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 years without exception.”

In recent months, both New South Wales (which has introduced strict bail laws) and Victoria (which has reneged on a promise to raise the age to 14) have been accused of betraying First Nations children.

Putting ten-year-olds in prison will not reduce crime but will reinforce the vicious cycle of trauma.

And the incoming Liberal government in the Northern Territory has announced it will reinstate the use of spit hoods on children and lower the age again to 10 years, after Labor raised it to 12 years, following recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children.

“The law-and-order approach of punishment, power and control has never worked and it will not work now,” Ms Warner said.

“The responsibility of governments is to do everything possible to prevent crime, not to respond with harshness.

“We are extremely concerned that proven programs that actually contribute to crime prevention and have never been adequately supported or funded are now becoming even less relevant.

“Putting 10-year-olds in prison and increasing incarceration rates will not reduce crime; it will perpetuate the cycle of trauma, violence and government neglect that got us to this point in the first place.”

Senator Cox said the federal government's handling of social media is not a solution.

“It is as complicated as the issue of juvenile justice, which this government refuses to address, even if it costs the lives of our children,” she said.

“If we recognize the impact of social media on our children, isn't it also unacceptable to lock them up, remove them from their community, put a spit hood on them and traumatize them?”

A spokesman for Mr Dreyfus said the Australian Government remained committed to reforms that would enable communities to develop locally tailored initiatives that address the root causes of incarceration, including reducing First Nations children's contact with the criminal justice system, including establishing a pioneering national justice reinvestment program.

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If the age of access to social media can be raised to 14, what about the age of criminal responsibility?

Spit hoods or spit guards?

“Unimaginable and tragic”

Disregard for international recommendations

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