‘Farm animals with better legal protection’: Queensland’s new child watch house laws pilloried

Palaszczuk government overriding state’s Human Rights Act to allow for imprisoning children as young as 10 in adult watch houses

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Queensland’s human rights commissioner has accused the government of setting a “dangerous precedent” after it overrode the Human Rights Act to allow children to be detained at adult watch houses and prisons.

In a surprise move, the Palaszczuk government introduced legislation on Wednesday to allow it to imprison children in adult watch houses “even if it would not be compatible with human rights”.

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