Queensland parents risk jail time for leaving children under 12 home alone

[C.Edwards]

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/queensland/queensland-parents-risk-jail-time-for-leaving-children-under-12-home-alone/story-fndo4ckr-1226532397423

QUEENSLAND parents are risking jail time for leaving children as young as 10 at home alone.

Australia's biggest childhood study reveals at least one-in-four of the nation's 10 and 11-year-olds are left without adult supervision for more than an hour at a time at least once a week.

The Federal Government's Growing Up in Australia study, involving 10,000 Australian children, has found that one in five children are left home alone several times a week.

"With the rise in the number of mothers returning to work after having children, there may be more children who are at home unsupervised after school than in the past," the researchers' latest report states.

Queensland parents risk up to three years' jail for "leaving a child under 12 unattended".

The Queensland Criminal Code states it is a "misdemeanour" for a parent to leave a child younger than 12 "for an unreasonable time without making reasonable provision for the supervision and care of the child".

Whether the time is unreasonable "depends on all the relevant circumstances".

Queensland's Commissioner for Children, Elizabeth Fraser, said it is up to parents to decide when it is safe to leave a child alone, commenting she knew of a case in which young children had set fire to the house while their parents were out.

Police have used the legislation - the harshest in Australia - to prosecute parents for leaving children in parked cars for a few minutes with the windows down, or letting them go to the shops alone.

Police have also charged a senior bureaucrat in a remote indigenous community for allegedly leaving his eight-year-old son alone while he dined at a restaurant 150m away.

Narangba mother-of-three Lynsey Fletcher said she would never leave her 10-year-old Karlece home alone.

"I just wouldn't feel comfortable at all," she said.

"I would much rather know someone is always with them."

Pah. What do those stupid mollycoddling Aussies know about childcare, eh?

[debunker]

So?

[Redblossom]

Australia and the USA have a zero tolerance policy on child neglect, though the UK is moving in that direction

A mother was cautioned or convicted, I dont remember, for leaving her 14 yr old looking after a toddler

[debunker]

Australia and the USA have a zero tolerance policy on child neglect, though the UK is moving in that direction

A mother was cautioned or convicted, I dont remember, for leaving her 14 yr old looking after a toddler

I am aware of no change in the law or its interpretation over neglect. There is evidence that direct abuse is being acted against more readily since the Baby P case.

There are at least 51 systems of justice in the US. Where is your evidence for a zero tolerance approach in each. Allegations are cheap, proof is expensive.

[Rachel Granada]

Quote whatever you want... Iceland, Norway, Pakistan, Honduras, Italy, Peru, Ukraine, Lebanon, Israel, Sweden.

But it happened in Portugal and no laws were broken there.

[registrar]

Australia and the USA have a zero tolerance policy on child neglect, though the UK is moving in that direction

A mother was cautioned or convicted, I dont remember, for leaving her 14 yr old looking after a toddler

Since when?

Didn't see the US kick up too much when Michael Jackson (a US citizen) dangled his child (a US citizen) out of the window of a German hotel - let alone all the other things Michael 'entertained' other kids with.

empty vessels produce the most noise - cite and cite again or remain forever discredited.

 

[registrar]

here's the video in case anyone missed it

DON'T watch if you are of a nervous disposition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ElddgJCgyg

[registrar]

tongue tied Redblossom?

[registrar]

As redblossom is so keen to do

bump

still awaiting redblossom's cite to firm up her 'statement of fact', namely:

quote

Australia and the USA have a zero tolerance policy on child neglect, though the UK is moving in that direction

unquote

[Luz]

Quote whatever you want... Iceland, Norway, Pakistan, Honduras, Italy, Peru, Ukraine, Lebanon, Israel, Sweden.

But it happened in Portugal and no laws were broken there.

Yes they were. But as "special" British they had a special treatment with the intervention of the UK Ambassador on the day after, and with the Media Circus they managed to gather, they were able to avoid a more direct approach to their negligence by directing them internationally towards an invented abduction.

At 24:01 the Home Offce was releasing a note to the press that a child had been abducted in the Algarve when there was no certainty of what had happened. The child could have walked out if the door was in fact opened, but hours before someone had already talked about an event that nobody could know if had happened. Too suspicious!

[debunker]

Quote whatever you want... Iceland, Norway, Pakistan, Honduras, Italy, Peru, Ukraine, Lebanon, Israel, Sweden.

But it happened in Portugal and no laws were broken there.

Yes they were. But as "special" British they had a special treatment with the intervention of the UK Ambassador on the day after, and with the Media Circus they managed to gather, they were able to avoid a more direct approach to their negligence by directing them internationally towards an invented abduction.

At 24:01 the Home Offce was releasing a note to the press that a child had been abducted in the Algarve when there was no certainty of what had happened. The child could have walked out if the door was in fact opened, but hours before someone had already talked about an event that nobody could know if had happened. Too suspicious!

Unsubstantiated rubbish.

You have still not admitted that Portuguese Law requires INTENT for a successful prosecution for Neglect. You denied this and refused to produce a cite (as you always refuse to back up any of your fallacious statements.) Your reputation is in threads.

Lucl=kily for the truthful and honest posters on here I was able to quote the legislation showing that intent is necessary.

The truth is more important than appearing to be right.

[debunker]

As redblossom is so keen to do

bump

still awaiting redblossom's cite to firm up her 'statement of fact', namely:

quote

Australia and the USA have a zero tolerance policy on child neglect, though the UK is moving in that direction

unquote

She will need to quote from at least 51 jurisdictions.

Maybe people should be more careful before making up factoids.