Australia's Overuse of Detention of Children
Reading the Human Rights Watch world report on The Global Overuse of Detention of Children is nothing short of complete embarrassment to an otherwise proud Australian citizen.
In nearly every second paragraph from start to end, Australia is mentioned NOT as a shining example to other United Nations, but as clear-cut shocking examples of 100% unlawful practices in both the UN and the EU.
From the disproportionate arrest and detention of minority children, to prosecuting children as adults, to life sentences of children, to mandatory detention of child immigrants, to torture, deprivation and use of excessive force and holding children in adult prisons - Australia ranks like a third world war-torn country.
Mr Turnbull's comments about being "deeply shocked and appalled" at Don Dale's mistreatment of youth is almost laughable considering the Victorian government spent the best part of that year loosing in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal over the unlawful and cruel detainment of children at Victoria's Barwon Max facility.
The government's law and order race to the bottom, of who can breech the most international laws in one term, has attracted the criticism of more than 100 UN countries at the 2016 Universal Periodic Review and its scathing attack at the UN in response has quite possibly irreparably damaged its candidacy for a seat at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for the 2018-2020 term.
For a government who finds it impossible to abide by the laws that it is bound by, to demand that we abide by its plentiful unlawful and un-democratic common laws AND then expect us to vote for it again in 2018 is a tad rich isn't it?
They're going to have to a lot better in the area of human rights in Australia if they want to see more than clever doodles on the ballot paper next year!