Page 4257 - Week 14 - Thursday, 24 October 1991
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MS MAHER (12.24): I will not be supporting this amendment. I think it is rather atrocious, to be quite honest, to be locking children up for a fine default. As Mr Connolly stated, imprisonment for fine defaults should be a last resort. Young children nowadays who are having problems and who are in trouble with the law need more support and counselling rather than being thrown into prison.
Mr Stefaniak said that it would be assisting the children of our Territory. How in the hell will locking children up and throwing them into a prison where there are more experienced criminals help them? It will be putting them on a worse road than they are already on.
As for revenue to the Territory, I do not have any figures or costings and what have you; but I am sure that it would be more costly to keep these children in prison and in remand centres than it would be to chase up the fines. The cost of keeping children in residential care facilities such as this is enormous. It is enormous to the community. I think that we should be doing everything possible to keep our children out of prison and out of places like Quamby. We should be looking at ways of helping them to keep out of trouble altogether, rather than locking them up where they can gain more experience in getting into trouble right across the board.
As Mr Connolly said, community service orders need to be put in place. I would say that some of the children who do not pay their fines are unemployed. Sometimes it would fall back onto the parents to pay those fines, which is sad, but true. Children should be given more community service orders and certainly should not be locked up in prison. I will not be supporting the amendment.
MR COLLAERY (12.27): I move:
That the debate be now adjourned.
Ms Follett: Oh, come on.
MR COLLAERY: Well, you have three minutes. What do you want to do?
Ms Follett: We can deal with it.
Mr Connolly: When do you want an extension to?
MR COLLAERY: Do you not understand the standing orders? It has to be adjourned because it is a Thursday.
Mr Connolly: We can do it this afternoon.
MR BERRY (Deputy Chief Minister) (12.27): The Government will be opposing the motion. It would be an appropriate time for the Assembly to adjourn for lunch, but we will be opposing the motion to adjourn the debate.
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