00:00From border closures to youth crime crackdowns and children in watch houses,
00:08no shortage of issues for Queensland's first human rights commissioner.
00:12I think the rights of children really have been at the forefront of my term.
00:17In an interview with the ABC ahead of the end of his seven year tenure,
00:21Scott McDougall reflected on the highs.
00:24The reform of Queensland's hate crime laws is probably one of the great achievements of the commission.
00:29And moments of dismay.
00:31Now it is lawful to detain a child in a watch house indefinitely.
00:37It's an extraordinary law to have on our statute books.
00:40He remembers visiting a 17 year old who'd been in a watch house for more than three weeks with no access to sunlight.
00:47The expression on that boy's face, it was really quite haunting and disturbing
00:53and I wish all Queenslanders could actually have seen it.
00:56I have to admit I have lost sleep at night worrying about children spending weeks and weeks.
01:04Queensland has had a Human Rights Act since 2020. Governments have overridden it several times.
01:11I couldn't say that there hasn't been lip service provided to human rights during my term.
01:18There certainly has. And that is a weakness of the legislation.
01:22Mr McDougall wants the act to be strengthened so it is enforceable.
01:27So if a person feels that their rights have been unjustifiably limited,
01:31they can just go to a court and seek remedies. That would be the ideal situation.
01:36Recruitment is underway for his successor, so does he have any advice?
01:40I certainly do have some tips that I am happy to pass on.
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