Queensland’s ‘breach bail, go to jail’ law risks cruel outcomes for children

Queensland’s new law that would mandate jail for some children — including sentences of up to a year for offenders as young as 10 — has prompted the state to concede it breaches human rights and could worsen overcrowding in prisons, youth detention centres and police watch houses. Human rights lawyers warn the measure may produce ‘cruel outcomes’ and the government’s own legislative documents accept the policy will place further strain on already crowded facilities. The controversy raises urgent questions about whether punishment, not support, is being offered to vulnerable children and whether political tough-on-crime posturing is costing young lives and long-term community safety.