For a first world country, Australia certainly has some extremely low standards that shock other developed nations. One is the fact we still lock up children as young as 10, in direct violation of the 2019 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. On this episode of Broken Chains, we talk to Keenan Mundine, a former incarcerated child and the co-founder of Deadly Connections, about the ongoing battle to raise the age of incarceration in Australia. 

Links:

• Check out the Deadly Connections website and their Facebook page.
• Listen to Keenan's speech to the United Nations.
• Watch Incarceration Nation on SBS.
• '100% of children detained in NT are Aboriginal'. NITV. 26 June 2018. 
• Allam, Lorena (16 July 2020). "Indigenous children 17 times more likely to go to jail than non-Indigenous youth". The Guardian.
• Earlier this year, 31 United Nations member states, including Canada, France and Norway, called on Australia to raise the age in line with the 2019 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommendation that 14 years should be the minimum age worldwide. The ACT is set to go it alone and become the first jurisdiction to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.
• Ransley, Ellen (11 October 2021). "ACT committed to raising age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, new report affirms". News.com.au.

Views expressed disclaimer:

The views, thoughts, opinions expressed throughout this series are solely attributed to the host and guests of the program and do not reflect those of the City of Newcastle.