The politics of punishment: the real cost of Australia’s failure to uphold its international obligations to protect and promote the human rights of children in detention.

Youth detention in Australia is a complex issue that intersects with human rights, public safety and social justice. The treatment of young people in detention is a critical focus area for human rights advocates who have long identified repeat violations of Australia’s international obligations to uphold the human rights of children in detention. And yet, despite these known violations, and despite mounting evidence that detention does not keep the community safe at all, there are continued calls across Australia to get even ‘tougher on crime’ for young offenders. So, what will it take to cool the political hot potato that is juvenile justice for long enough to create and invest in a system that actually works?

Show Notes:

Dr Anita Mackay’s recent book 'A Children's Rights Assessment of Juvenile Detention in Australia' (Routledge, 2025) is about human rights compliance in Australian youth detention: https://bit.ly/4eveJgY 

She also authored 'Towards Human Rights Compliance in Australian Prisons' (ANU Press, 2020): https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/towards-human-rights-compliance-australian-prisons

Dr Mackay has also written on how vulnerable witnesses are protected during Royal Commissions. Read her article here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3544432

Best Interests Children’s Law Podcast is sponsored by Ex Curia: Coaching & Consulting Pty Ltd, Meliora Psychology and Claudia Grimberg Lawyers.

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