Senator SHOEBRIDGE (New South Wales) (17:07): I, and also on behalf of Senator Cox, move: That the Senate— (a) commends the Australian Capital Territory Government's commitment to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14; (b) notes with concern the ongoing abuse of the rights of children in juvenile detention centres across the country; and (c) calls on the Federal Attorney-General to coordinate a binding national justice reform strategy that includes raising the age of criminal responsibility across all states and territories to 14, justice reinvestment and diversion. This motion asks that the Senate, first of all, commend the ACT government's commitment to raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14. But it also seeks that the Senate note with concern the ongoing abuse of the rights of children in juvenile detention centres right across this country and call on the federal Attorney-General to coordinate a binding national justice reform strategy that includes raising the age of criminal responsibility across all states and territories to 14 as well as justice reinvestment and diversion. It's hard to imagine a more serious issue that has gripped this country than the crisis we've seen in juvenile detention centres, with thousands and thousands of children, tragically, so many of them First Nations children, being held in detention centres that are brutal, that are inhumane and that would seem to be designed to abuse their human rights. When jurisdictions like Queensland suspend their human rights act in order to keep First Nations kids in police watch houses, what should the federal government do? It shouldn't do what this government does, which is turn its face away from the issue, simply pretend it's a matter for Queensland to continue to flout international basic standards for the rights of the child and allow Queensland to continue to abuse hundreds and hundreds of kids. If you want to be genuinely shocked, look at the appalling rise in the number of children kept in Queensland jails over the last decade. Ask yourself: should the federal government—should the federal Attorney-General—just avert their gaze and pretend that that's okay? Of course he shouldn't, and of course the Commonwealth government should accept an obligation to step in and respect the rights of children not to be systemically abused like that. If we cast our eyes— The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Fawcett ): In the context of all the discussions that occurred earlier today, I do just draw to your attention standing order 193(3), about offensive words or imputations of improper motives or reflections. That also includes the houses of parliament of states. Some of your comments about the actions of the Queensland parliament in suspending their human rights laws would go to that, so I just ask you to consider that as you continue your remarks. Senator SHOEBRIDGE: Thank you. In casting our eyes to WA, we've seen repeated judgements from the Supreme Court of Western Australia about the unlawful detention regime in WA, where the WA government feels perfectly fine moving children into adult prisons in conditions we know will abuse their human rights. The WA government has been on notice now for over 12 months that the conditions of detention in Banksia and in prisons where children are held in WA—again, overwhelmingly First Nations children—are an abuse of the human rights of those children. We're talking about children, in some cases, as young as 10 years of age. Twice now the WA Supreme Court has pointed out the unlawfulness of the brutal detention regime for children in WA, and what has the WA government done? Nothing. It has permitted the abusive conditions to continue. In just the last few short weeks, we've seen that end in the ultimate tragedy: the death of a 16-year-old boy in a WA prison. What will it take for the Attorney-General and the Albanese government to say, 'Enough's enough,' draw a line in the sand and say, 'There must be minimum national standards to protect children'? Who has the international obligation? It's the Commonwealth government that's entered into the international treaties. That's where the obligation lies, and they cannot avert their eyes when state after state—we could have another speech entirely devoted to the abuses in the Northern Territory in notorious institutions like Don Dale. We could look at the recent findings about the brutal, abusive detention in Tasmanian facilities. I know that in my home state of New South Wales—which, thankfully, has seen the number of children detained reduced over the last decade, pushing against the national trend—those institutions such as Reiby are abusing the rights of children as young as 10 years of age. What will it take for the federal Attorney-General and for the Albanese government to say, 'Enough's enough' and that they will implement national minimum standards? This is a campaign that millions of Australians want to succeed. They want to see the minimum age of criminal responsibility raised to at least 14. I want to commend those brave First Nations grandmothers who have come out and done this work, the lawyer groups, the land councils—the people of goodwill across this country who want it to end. I can't make this contribution without acknowledging the courage of Sophie Trevitt, human rights lawyer, who I know my colleagues in this chamber knew closely and who devoted her life to this cause. In the name of Sophie Trevitt but more so in the name of all those kids who, as we debate this, are in a cell by themselves, facing a spit hood, facing isolation, taken from country, taken from family—in their name, let's raise the age.