Late-Night Debate as Victoria Raises Criminal Age

Victoria will be the first state to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 12 but the push for further youth justice reform is far from over. The government has abandoned plans to raise the age to 14 in a policy shift coinciding with a series of high-profile fatalities involving alleged youth offenders. Fierce debate raged in the state’s upper house until almost 2am on Aug. 16 over hundreds of amendments to the 1000-page Youth Justice Bill. The legislation was passed with the support of cross-benchers including the Greens, Legalise Cannabis, Animal Justice Party, and Libertarian parties. The bill is expected to easily pass the lower house....