Example scripts for calling Attorneys-General during the Raise the Age Week of Action 2023
Let’s use our voices this Raise the Age Week of Action to demand our Attorneys-General #RaiseTheAge to at least 14 now.
Remember to be polite and don’t worry about being nervous, the staff are there to listen and pass on your message.
Find out more about the Week of Action here.
Calling Federal Attorney-General Mark Drefyus
The Hon. Mark Dreyfus QC, MP, Attorney-General, 02 6277 7300
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Australia.
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently.
This would bring Australia in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison around Australia that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the Australian government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling Australian Capital Territory Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury
Mr Shane Rattenbury, Attorney-General, (02) 6205 0005
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Australian Capital Territory.
I understand that the ACT Government has passed legislation to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2023, and then to 14 in 2025, with exceptions.
This is not good enough as it does not meet the minimum standards set by the United Nations and is a failure to protect the rights of ACT children.
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently and without exceptions.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison around Australia that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the ACT Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling New South Wales Attorney-General Michael Daley
The Hon. Michael Daley, Attorney General, (02) 7225 6070
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in New South Wales.
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Michael Daley to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently.
This would bring NSW in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the NSW Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling Northern Territory Attorney-General Chansey Paech
The Hon. Chanston Paech, Attorney-General, (08) 8936 5688
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Northern Territory.
I understand that the NT Government has raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 on the 1st of August 2023.
This is not good enough as it does not meet the minimum standards set by the United Nations and is a failure to protect the rights of Northern Territory children.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Chansey Paech to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently and without exceptions.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison around Australia that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the NT Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath
The Hon. Yvette D’Ath, Attorney-General, (07) 3719 7400
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Queensland.
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently.
This would bring Queensland in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
I’m also appalled that the Queensland Government has overridden their own Human Rights Act to legally imprison children in adult watch houses.
The Queensland government needs to invest in alternatives to incarceration that are already working, rather than locking children away in adult watch houses and continuing their plans to build two new children’s prisons.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the QLD Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling South Australian Attorney-General Kyam Maher
The Hon. Kyam Maher, Attorney-General, (08) 7322 7050
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in South Australia.
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Kyam Maher to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently.
This would bring South Australia in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the SA Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling Tasmanian Attorney-General Guy Barnett
The Hon. Guy Barnett, Attorney-General, (03) 6165 7678
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Tasmania
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Guy Barnett to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently.
This would bring Tasmania in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
I understand that the Tasmanian Government is planning to raise the age of detention to 14 by the end of 2024, but not the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
Raising the age of detention but not the minimum age of criminal responsibility does not meet the standards set by the United Nations and is a failure to protect the rights of Tasmanian children.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the Tasmanian Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes
The Hon. Jaclyn Symes, Attorney-General, (03) 8684 1111
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Victoria.
I understand the Victorian Government has plans to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2024 and review it in 2027.
This is not good enough; it does not meet the minimum standards set by the United Nations of 14, and is a failure to protect the rights of Victorian children.
I’m calling on Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes to commit to raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently and without exceptions.
This would bring Victoria in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison around Australia that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the Victorian Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.
Calling Western Australia Attorney-General John Quigley
The Hon. John Quigley, Attorney General, (08) 6552 6800
Hi <name of person who answered>,
My name is <insert here>, and I’m calling from <insert Traditional Country name>.
I’m calling you about the minimum age of criminal responsibility in Western Australia.
I know that this Friday all Australian Attorneys-General will discuss plans to address the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
I’m calling on Attorney-General John Quigley to commit to Raising the Age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, urgently.
This would bring WA in line with the global average age of criminal responsibility and the United Nations recommendations.
It has been over two years since WA Labor passed a motion to raise the age from 10 to 14 in October 2021. Instead of protecting young, marginalised children, the WA Government are allowing children in Banksia Hill to be caged for up to 21 hours a day.
Children in Unit 18, a maximum security adult prison, have said they are being shackled by their wrists and ankles for over 8 hours at a time. This barbaric and inhumane treatment of our youngest citizens in the state’s care amounts to torture in international law.
Children’s lives are at stake, and I implore the WA Government to close Unit 18 and raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 immediately.
We know there are hundreds of community-led alternatives to prison that are already in place, and working.
Instead of locking up children, the WA Government needs to fully fund these culturally safe services that support children and their families.
Thanks for taking my call and listening.