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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (11 November) . . Page.. 3901 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

difficult to deal with in some ways and they are non-compliant, it does not mean that they are all violent, by any stretch of the imagination. One violent person there may, in fact, make it very difficult for other people to manage their own rehabilitation. I think that is the issue we are dealing with, and that is why, I guess, I am undecided on the issue. So, we need to have an answer from the Minister about that issue.

On the annual reporting, I must say that I favour the way the Official Visitor can already get a report into the Assembly. However, I recognise that other people believe that fitting it in with the normal processes of annual reporting is the best way to go. It is not an issue that I feel so strongly about that I would be prepared to call for a vote. I think it is better for the Official Visitor to be able to get his or her reports to the Minister as quickly as possible. I would encourage the Official Visitor to make sure that any issues that he or she comes across that need immediate resolving are resolved or are drawn to the attention of the Minister and, in turn, of the Assembly, because that is such an important role in ensuring the protection of young people - and, of course, at the Belconnen Remand Centre, older people - who are in custody.

The other issue, Madam Deputy Speaker, which is a very sensible one, is about the court taking into account the fact that an adult may still have some part of a juvenile sentence to serve and should not come back into a young people's detention centre. That would be entirely inappropriate, and I think this amendment resolves that problem very sensibly.

MRS LITTLEWOOD (12.03): Madam Deputy Speaker, the comments I would like to make today do not relate so much to the legalities as to the options that are open for young people. It really is very important that young people have a number of options. By not permitting people to be transferred interstate, we may well close off a very valuable option for some young people. I appreciate the comments made by Ms Reilly and Ms Tucker; but we do need to have as many options as possible open. If we close off this option, it means that some young person may, in fact, miss out on a program that could be best suited for them. That concerns me a great deal. The area of youth and the problems in that area are a very difficult area. Having worked in the area, I know that there is no one solution to the problems. It is a combination of solutions. I do not believe that we should close any gates or any doors; but we should leave as many as possible open.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (12.04), in reply: I thank members for their comments and their support for two out of the three prongs of these two Bills - firstly, the Crimes (Amendment) Bill, which I think is eminently sensible, satisfies a real need and is something that a lot of people who have had dealings with juvenile justice have wanted; and also the one in relation to the Official Visitor. In relation to the concerns members have expressed about the transfer of young offenders, members may be aware that the equivalent administration in other States has the capacity by way of administrative decision to transfer young persons to a range of institutions to meet their particular needs or to meet the needs of other young people in the institution. New South Wales, of course, has the choice of nine such institutions. ACT offenders too, in years gone by, were sentenced to New South Wales institutions. So, it is not something that is new.

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