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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 09 Hansard (Tuesday, 17 August 2004) . . Page.. 3676 ..

We heard evidence that on one particular day, when 13 residents had been identified as having drug and alcohol issues, all residents were classified as being at risk of self-harm, requiring 15-minute cyclical observations. On another day, 50 per cent of the children and young people in Quamby were known to family services. Following on from that, on a given day, 63 per cent of the young people at Quamby had been there at least once before—and probably many more times than that—and 31 per cent of those young people had been there exactly one year ago to the day. But that did not mean that they had stayed there for a year. These kids had been there a year before; they had been released and had re-entered; they had again been released and had again re-entered Quamby. That evidence was provided by the Office of the Community Advocate.

I think that evidence alone—those stark figures which look at the complex needs of those young people and the lives that have led them to Quamby—clearly highlights the fact that more work needs to be done in the interests and wellbeing of children and young people. I believe we need to provide more support, both inside and outside Quamby, to make sure young people do not get stuck in a cycle of contact with the criminal justice system.

MR CORNWELL (10.53): I shall be brief. I think the matter has been adequately covered by you, Mr Chair, and Ms Dundas, but I would like to refer to a couple of recommendations we made. The first is recommendation 2, which is to “establish a clear protocol for children and young people in these circumstances to continue to have a single case manager from Family Services.”

I do not expect the government to do anything about this recommendation, because they did not in the first report that was brought down—The Forgotten Victims of Crime: Families of Offenders, and Their Silent Sentence. To some extent this particular report flows on from that major report, which was brought down some time ago in this house. I would, nevertheless, appeal to the government and I would appeal to commonsense. I believe that for adults, children and young people in such circumstances, a single case manager from family services is essential. I would hope that the government would reconsider their comments in relation to adults and adopt this recommendation of the committee with regard to children and young people.

I would also like to refer to recommendation 7, where we talk about a working group to establish the adequacy and appropriateness of programs currently available in Quamby. I think it is important to draw attention to some of the points we made in the body of the report—that, whilst there are programs in relation to sex offenders and anger management and there is also a health and a hygiene focus—there is not a focus on life needs. I would commend to the government the comment made at 5.51. It says:

In Western Australia (WA) the South East Metropolitan Youth Association presents a ‘Life skills program’ pre release for detainees in the state’s youth detention centre. This four week program ‘Making it on the outside’ is run at the detention centre and aims to provide detainees with skills to be able to live independently. The four key areas are accommodation, budgeting and finance, life skills and jobs.

Finally, I support the decision that a juvenile detention facility on a new site should be considered and that that facility should be separate and away from any adult correctional facilities. With some reluctance I also support the recommendation that responsibility for

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