Updated August 30, 2016 09:49:09

Images of a teenage prisoner with a spit mask over his head at a Brisbane jail have been published by a Queensland newspaper, prompting renewed calls for 17-year-olds to be taken out of adult prisons in the state.

The 17-year-old was on remand in the Brisbane Correctional Centre at Wacol when the incident happened in 2013.

The images published in The Courier-Mail showed the boy was restrained with handcuffs attached to a body restraint after he ignored warnings and allegedly pressed the emergency intercom in 2013.

He was reportedly left alone for an hour with a spit mask over his head.

The boy had complained the punishment was excessive force.

The State Government condemned similar treatment of young offenders in the Northern Territory, but insisted spit masks were not used in Queensland youth detention facilities.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said she wanted to see teenagers removed from adult prisons.

"On the issue of 17-year-olds, it is Labor Party policy to see those 17-year-olds to be moved out of the adult system — something that no other government has sought to do since this legislation has been in place since 1992," she said.

"And it is the right thing to do."

Earlier this month, Ms D'Ath said returning 17-year-olds to the youth detention system was complicated, with safety issues to be considered for younger detainees.

"If I'm going to add 50 17-year-olds — 17-year-olds who may be one month or one day off becoming an 18-year-old — into a youth detention centre with much younger detainees, I have to manage that and make sure we have the systems in place," she said at the time.

'Prisons aren't equipped to deal with young people'

Barrister and Youth Advocacy Centre chairman Damien Atkinson said it was outrageous children were still being detained in adult jails.

"I'd like to bring Queensland into line with every other state in Australia and say when you're 17, you're still a child," he said.

"Prisons and prison officers aren't equipped to deal with young people and our government in defending our children to adult prisons.

"It's much worse in somewhere like Lotus Glen [Correctional Centre in far north Queensland] — they have to mix with the adult prison population."

Mr Atkinson said it was not good enough for the Government to say it had a policy to move 17-year-olds from adult prisoners and nothing changed.

"They've had that [Labor] policy since 1992 when Ann Warner was the minister — it's been a long, long time and we've been patient, I think," he said.

"If Queenslanders understood the situation, and hopefully they do now, they'd think it's totally unacceptable."

Corrective Services Minister Bill Byrne said the Government was working on it.

"We've taken those first steps to end that with the automatic transfer to adult prisons of 17-year-olds and we're attuned to it, and the Attorney-General and myself are working on ways in which we can facilitate that policy position," he said.

Mr Byrne said a review would be conducted into the use of the restraints and the spit mask on the 17-year-old.

He said an earlier review found the actions of prison officers were entirely appropriate.

"This occurred during the previous government and of course given the media this morning I've asked that a review of that be conducted by Corrections and that's underway as we speak," he said.

Queensland 'must get in line with other jurisdictions'

Debbie Kilroy, from the prisoner support group Sisters Inside, said successive governments had failed the state's children.

"We're the last jurisdiction in this country that actually locks up 17-year-old children in adult prisons," she said.

"The law must change — they are children — the United Nations has stated that they're children and there's been a number of negative reports from the UN.

"It's time for Queensland to get into line with every other jurisdiction in the country."

Ms Kilroy said children were being violated.

"It's not about policy, it's about law — they're [MPs are] in Parliament this week — the law could be changed this week," she said.

"It's time for the Labor Government to step up and protect 17-year-old children in adult prisons and get them out of there."

Review of youth detention centres

Photo: NT youth detainee Dylan Voller was seen in footage aired by Four Corners wearing a spit hood. (Supplied)

Ms D'Ath ordered a review into allegations of abuse at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville earlier this month.

The decision followed the Prime Minister's decision to set up a royal commission into abuse in the Northern Territory's juvenile justice system after an investigation by the ABC's Four Corners program.

In the days after the Four Corners report aired in July, Ms D'Ath said there was "no evidence of systemic problems or abuse in Queensland [youth detention centres]".

Shadow attorney-general Ian Walker said in a statement today it was important the treatment of children in the state's youth detention centres met community expectations and welcomed the Government's plan for a review.

"At the time we said we would like to be consulted on the terms of reference and the appointment of those who will be undertaking the review," Mr Walker said.

"We also asked for an urgent briefing on the issues that have been raised.

"Despite repeated attempts via phone and email, we are still yet to receive anything from the Attorney-General's office."

Topics: prisons-and-punishment, youth, law-crime-and-justice, activism-and-lobbying, brisbane-4000, qld, mareeba-4880, cairns-4870

First posted August 30, 2016 07:54:37