Dan Andrews to raise age of criminal responsibility

REBEL STORE AUSTRALIA

Get Rebel News Australia merchandise! All our products are printed in and fulfilled from Queensland.

SHOP NOW

• By Avi Yemini

Sign up for Rebel News Australia!

Get updates on Rebel News coverage in Australia delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss a story!

Sign Up

Victoria will raise the age of criminal responsibility regardless of what other states do, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has said.

Andrews said he was working on a national consensus about raising the age from 10 to 12 - or possibly 14 - but insisted he would go it alone if other premiers would not agree to lift the age limit.

“We're giving that one more go to try and get a national consensus and if we don't as I said some time ago, we won't hesitate to do our own thing," Andrews said.

Commonwealth, state and territory attorney-generals will meet in April to consider a report recommending lifting the age limit, but Andrews wants a decision made sooner than that.

"I'm not necessarily keen to wait that long,” he said.

Andrews would not say whether he supported raising the age to 12 or 14 but the

Victorian Greens are insisting it must be increased to at least 14.

"The Victorian Greens have welcomed today's indication from the Premier that the state government may move on raising the age of criminal responsibility in the coming months," a Greens’ spokesperson said.

"Yet the Greens have also strongly urged the Government to ensure any bill introduced to Parliament raises the age to at least 14 years old, consistent with the Greens' own bill that is currently before the Legislative Council.

"The Greens say anything that falls short of this would represent a weak politicised decision, and one that is entirely inconsistent with all the advice from leading medical, legal and human rights groups from across the world."