The Australian government lowered the age of criminal responsibility once again in the country’s Northern Territory (NT), which will include the imprisonment of children as young as 10.

Australian states and territories have been under pressure to raise the age from 10 to 14 just like other developed countries but the NT government deemed its decision necessary to reduce youth crime rates. Last year the government in NT became the first jurisdiction to lift the threshold to 12 years, but the new County Liberal Party (CLP) elected in August made a U-turn from the previous decision.

The CLP has argued that returning the age to 10 will ultimately protect children- despite doctors, human rights organisations and Indigenous groups saying otherwise.

Various organisations have cited evidence that the laws will not reduce crime and will disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The NT already jails children at a rate 11 times higher than any other jurisdiction in the country, and almost all of them are Aboriginal.

Australia has declared many places in the country are in the grips of a youth crime crisis. A series of violent incidents that happened this year even prompted several youth curfews in the NT city of Alice Springs. 

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said her government had been given a mandate after their landslide election victory, and that the change of age to 10 would allow courts to put young offenders through programmes designed to address the root causes of their crimes. Statistics show break-in and assault offences as the most common crimes.

“We have this obligation to the child who has been let down in several ways, over a long period,” she told the parliament on Thursday.

“We make no apologies for delivering on our commitments to reduce crime for all Territorians,” Finocchiaro added.

On the other hand, research both globally and in Australia has shown that imprisoning young children makes them more likely to offend and often has dire impacts on their health, education and employment. 

Opposition Leader Selena Uibo, who is the first and only Aboriginal woman to head a major party in Australia, said it was a “dark day” for the territory.

The change has yet to come into effect, as the NT parliament has only debated the bill this week. 

(With inputs from agencies)