"This boy is too young to have a licence or a Facebook account, yet he has had to front the Supreme Court and argue against laws that could send him to prison," she said. "It’s time for the McGowan Government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years. Children should be in playgrounds and classrooms, not courtrooms." An appeal for his convictions to be quashed and for no further penalties to be applied to the boy was granted in the Supreme Court of WA on Friday by acting Justice Larissa Strk. During Justice Strk's submissions she noted the boy, who was 11 and 12 years old at the time of his offending, played no major role in the uncoordinated and non-violent home burglaries, carried out with older children in empty houses during the day. The court heard the boy had a learning impairment, although he had not been diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome, and came from a severely disadvantaged upbringing with his father in jail and his mother suffering from entrenched substance abuse issues.

During his original sentencing in Bunbury Children's Court, it was found the magistrate was incorrect in her assumption that she had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence under mandatory sentencing laws. However, Justice Strk found the magistrate should have considered a special circumstances application made on the boy's behalf, which argued his prior burglary offences not be considered during sentencing. Children should be in playgrounds and classrooms, not courtrooms. Lawyer Shahleena Musk Justice Strk said sentencing children to detention was a last resort, and the boy's young age, maturity and prospects for rehabilitation should have outweighed the decision for a custodial sentence. She described the boy's time at Banksia Hill Detention Centre as living in "particularly harsh conditions."

She ordered his appeal be allowed, the magistrate's decision set aside, the sentence set aside and his guilty pleas for previous incidents in 2016 and 2017 not be considered as convictions. The boy, who appeared via video link from Bunbury, is now 13 years old and sat quietly during the proceedings, dressed in a T-shirt, pants and hat. Aboriginal children constitute seven per cent of the general WA population yet over 70 per cent of the prison population, according to the Human Rights Law Centre. Ms Musk said WA was the only Australian state that imposed mandatory sentencing laws on children. "The McGowan Government can’t pretend to care about Aboriginal children while simultaneously throwing them into prison at record rates," she said.

Loading "Premier McGowan should show national leadership and wind back laws that criminalise vulnerable kids and raise the age of criminal responsibility." When former Attorney General Michael Mischin announced the 'three strikes' burglary mandatory sentencing laws, he said they would apply to "adult offenders". Western Australia is the only jurisdiction that still uses mandatory sentencing laws against children. The Northern Territory previously had similar three-strike laws but repealed them in 2001 after the suicide of a 15-year-old boy who was mistakenly detained.

WA Attorney General John Quigley said the boy's case had raised concerns in the way children, particularly those with impairments, are dealt with by the courts. “The McGowan Government is working to address a number of these issues through legislative reform and other policy measures," he said. “This includes rewriting the Criminal Law (Mentally Impaired Accused) Act to protect the rights of mentally impaired accused, ensure procedural fairness and to bring WA into line with best practice in other states. “The new Act will include youth-specific considerations which must be taken into account, including when considering the appropriate disposition option for a youth with mental impairment. “The McGowan Government is conscious that mandatory sentencing laws can have a detrimental and unjust impact on children with cognitive impairments or mental health issues by not allowing the courts to decide how best to respond to their conduct.