Young offenders would be forcibly relocated to outback detention camps for “intensive rehabilitation” under a proposal by Katter’s Australia Party.
Key points:
- Katter’s Australia Party wants to put repeat youth offenders into mandatory outback detention camps
- The proposal draws inspiration from Aboriginal banishment practices
- The camps would house up to 30 offenders aged between 10 and 17 years old
The Queensland “Relocation Sentencing” proposal was announced on Monday alongside a report outlining how the proposal would work.
The report claimed the idea was based on the Aboriginal practice of Buje-Ka, in which people would be banished for breaking tribal laws.
The mandatory program would see repeat youth offenders housed in demountable buildings where they would be tasked with cooking, cleaning, and vocational training.
Those who try to escape would be “dealt with” on a case-by-case basis, and possibly put into lockdown.
Party leader Robbie Katter said the plan had broad backing from the Aboriginal community in his electorate.
“It’s driven very strongly by a lot of the Aboriginal elders in the areas we represent,” Mr Katter said.
“If you can force a kid into an area where they’re forced to listen in smaller groups, we think — and the evidence would show — there’s a better chance of bringing them around.
“We’ve listened to them, and it’s time the government listened to them as well.”
The proposed camps would be built in North or Far North Queensland, but it remained to be seen exactly where, or how much it would cost.
Those who demonstrate good behaviour would be released after six months, while those who did not would stay for 12 months.
Member for Hinchinbrook Nick Dametto said this was a “compassionate” measure to crack down on Queensland’s youth crime.
“We want to make sure our streets are kept safe, making sure some of those hardcore recidivist youth offenders are being detained for up to 12 months,” Mr Dametto said.
“It gives reprieve to every one of those people right now who are locking themselves like a fortress into their houses on a nightly basis.”
The camps would house up to 30 offenders aged between 10 and 17 years old.
The party handed out copies of the plan to all Queensland MPs on Monday, and will attempt to gain parliamentary backing for the plan in the coming months.
Member for Hill Shane Knuth said they hoped to run a pilot camp with a view to eventually building 10 to 20 camps in outback Queensland.
Mr Knuth said he estimated a camp could cost around $5 to $10 million to build.
He said this would be cheaper than a detention centre in the city.
“The beauty of this is if you’re 400 kilometres from the next town you don’t need to worry about where the kids are going too much — they haven’t got much choice,” Mr Knuth said.
“That should really put downward pressure on all the costs. We would see this as a small fraction of the cost of your current conventional youth detention service.”
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