This is the second part of National Indigenous Times' analysis on human rights in Queensland. Part one can be found here.

The human rights of young people in Queensland have been "decimated" in recent years, with government decisions eroding protections for the state's most vulnerable and revealing what experts describe as a "deep structural disregard" for children.

In a state still haunted by the abuses of power under "the hillbilly dictator", Joh Bjelke-Petersen, such claims are significant — but increasingly being made by those who have witnessed the dismantling of safeguards for young Queenslanders firsthand.

Under both Labor and the LNP, the Human Rights Act — a signature achievement of outgoing Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall — has been suspended on several occasions: to criminalise bail breaches for young people, remove detention as a last resort, and to permit children to be held in adult watch houses.

Adult Crime, Adult Time

Last year, the LNP government introduced its "adult crime, adult time" laws, permitting children as young as ten to be sentenced to life in prison for a range of offences, including some that are non-violent. The government itself admitted the laws "directly discriminate" against children.

"Over the last few years, both Labor and LNP governments have completely trampled human rights in Queensland, including voting together for 'adult crime, adult time' laws in the last year," Greens MP Michael Berkman tells National Indigenous Times.

"Labor at least paid lip service to human rights, including the rights of First Nations people with the Path to Treaty legislation and establishment of the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry. Now we have an LNP Government attacking the rights of the most vulnerable people in Queensland, from trans children to First Nations communities."

Queensland's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Commissioner, Natalie Lewis, says the reforms are "fundamentally inconsistent with Australia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child."

"These reforms have rolled back more than three decades of progress aimed at separating child justice from adult punishment and delivering rehabilitative responses that are known to be effective," she tells National Indigenous Times.

Earlier this year, the LNP government rejected all 70 recommendations from an independent review of the Human Rights Act, led by human rights lawyer Susan Harris-Rimmer. The review called for victims of crime to be treated with respect, for the right to adequate housing to be protected, and for limits on the government's override powers.

Commissioner Lewis says rejecting the recommendations — which Attorney-General Deb Frecklington argued "do not have regard to the government's positive agenda on victims' rights" — shows a "troubling lack of commitment to human rights accountability".

"The Human Rights Act offers protections for universal rights of all Queenslanders," she says. "It speaks volumes as to the value we place on rights for our young, and largely most vulnerable, Queenslanders when those protections exist for everyone but them."

Children in Watch Houses

Katherine Hayes, CEO of the Youth Advocacy Centre, tells National Indigenous Times that "human rights in Queensland over the last three or four years have been decimated".

"Some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Queensland, in particular children in the youth justice system, have been denied basic human rights over the last few years," she says. "This has led to a complete devaluation in Queensland of upholding human rights for those who need it the most."

One of the most egregious attacks is housing children in adult watch houses.

Data from 2023–24 shows 120 children aged 10–13 spent at least one night in the facilities— a 50 per cent increase from the previous year. Children aged 10–17 detained for more than four consecutive nights rose from 640 to 675. Despite rules stating children should not be held for longer than 72 hours, experts say this limit is routinely ignored. Nearly every child detained in these facilities is First Nations.

In letters sent to government officials last year, including then-premier Steven Miles, Ms Hayes detailed cases of children facing racist abuse, solitary confinement, and punitive measures such as the removal of bedding.

Among the cases were two Aboriginal children with cognitive and mental health conditions held in South-East Queensland watch houses for 15 days, two 14-year-old Aboriginal boys detained for 28 and 30 days respectively, and a 13-year-old Aboriginal boy held in Brisbane for 15 days. An 11-year-old and several 13-year-olds were also among those detained.

In July last year, ABC's 7.30 aired footage showing a 17-year-old First Nations boy being struck with a baton by police at the Richlands watch house in Brisbane.

Former Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall said the detention of children in watch houses was among the "most egregious" human rights issues of his seven-year term. He told National Indigenous Times that one child was locked up for more than 40 days.

"In that period of time, without exposure to sunlight, his hair started to fall out," he said.

"And that's just the physical impact. The psychological impact of prolonged detention in watch houses is a known reality, and there is a whole cohort of children out there who have been damaged permanently by the actions of the state government."

First Nations Children Disproportionately Affected

Queensland incarcerates more Indigenous children than any other jurisdiction and places First Nations children in out-of-home care at nearly ten times the rate of non-Indigenous children. Concerningly, the Productivity Commission data has not yet captured the full effects of the "adult crime, adult time" laws. The Queensland government said this week that nearly 3,000 youth offenders had been charged with more than 14,000 offences since December under the new laws.

"Outcomes across both statutory systems demonstrate a failure to address structural and systemic inequity and a weakening of the safeguards designed to protect children and their rights in Queensland," Commissioner Lewis says.

"The disproportionate representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is a pervasive and shameful feature of the statutory child protection system, and continues children's disconnection from kin, Country and culture."

Ms Hayes says the pipeline from out-of-home care to youth justice is "well established".

"The most depressing thing is that it's almost a source of pride from successive Queensland governments to have stripped these children of their rights," she says, arguing that the issue extends beyond neglect.

"It's not just disregarding something, but it's an active overturning," she says.

Restoring Rights and Accountability

Commissioner Lewis says governments have a "legal duty to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of all people".

"This means they must take proactive steps to prevent harm, address inequality, and build a culture that enables rights to be realised in practice," she says.

Despite decades of commitments to human rights and child protection reform, Queensland's approach to youth justice remains mired in punishment over prevention. As experts warn, unless governments act to restore safeguards and accountability, the cycle of harm will continue — and with it, the loss of another generation to a system meant to protect them.

"Indigenous leaders, human rights advocates, and international monitoring bodies have all expressed alarm at the deepening breaches of children's rights in Queensland," Commissioner Lewis says.

"These are voices we need to heed if we are serious about giving Queensland children the best possible chance in life."