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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 9 Hansard (23 August) . . Page.. 3234 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

misdirection of funds. We will redirect them because we are serious about doing something in schools which will affect outcomes for young people, not only in education but in youth justice as well. Each time I come into contact with young people in corrections emphasises to me the need to do more earlier.

I commend this report to the Assembly and urge the government to pay due regard to the recommendations in it in the hope that we get better outcomes for young people in our corrections facilities.

MRS BURKE (10.43): It has been a privilege and an honour to be on this committee with my colleagues, under the excellent chairship of Ms Tucker and the expert guidance of Mr Berry.

My first visit to Quamby was a somewhat eye-opening experience, and I believe that this committee presents some recommendations to government that will improve the excellent measures now in train at Quamby. I must congratulate the dedicated and committed staff at Quamby, currently working under the expert eye of Frank Duggan. The recommendations in the report will be further strengthened by the commitment of these staff, some 25 of whom have now gone on to diploma level. They are to be commended. This sets a tremendous mentoring culture, not only for corrections in the ACT as a whole but for all young people seeking to be rehabilitated back into our community.

I commend the report to this Assembly, and I urge the government to look carefully at all the recommendations laid out. I would also like to add my thanks for the exemplary work undertaken by the secretariat, in particular Judith Henderson and Judy Moutia. I think that Quamby is on the right track now, and I am heartened and encouraged. We still have a way to go, but I believe that the measures set out in this report will assist any government wishing to move in a positive direction and all involved at Quamby.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health, Housing and Community Services) (10.45): I am taking the unusual step of responding now because I will have no opportunity to do so after the Assembly rises. I have only had the opportunity to scan through this report to look at the recommendations and at parts of the report, and it strikes me that the situation was at a very low point when the death occurred at Quamby. It is the last thing anybody would want to see, and we understand that.

We then had the opportunity of looking at the coroner's report and of responding to the recommendations of the coroner in order to improve our service in Quamby. Congratulations are due to the people who have been leaders at Quamby and who have worked towards improvement since this terrible occurrence.

Even through there have been a huge number of improvements at Quamby that we recognise and admire, there is always room for more, particularly in a very difficult area like this. Those of us who have dealt with young people-even in our own homes or, like Mr Wood and I, as teachers-know that they can be very difficult to deal with from the ages of 12 or 13 through to 18. And the ones who are the most difficult are the ones for whom we have tried everything and it is still not working-where the courts determine that somebody must be incarcerated. So we are talking about the most difficult people of

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