Page 1179 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 9 April 2008
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Aboriginal knock-out carnival and visited cultural sites, connecting them with other Aboriginal young people from different communities. A young person residing at Narrabundah House was encouraged to enter his design in a competition to choose a logo for the ACT youth forums held last year. The design won, and he received recognition and a prize for his work, which was a very positive experience, I would imagine. These are just some of the examples of the many services the ACT government provides and funds to support young people in the community.
The government has also worked tirelessly on the Children and Young People Bill 2008, which will implement significant reforms to laws relating to young people. The new act will positively impact upon their daily lives through changes to employment, care and protection and criminal justice laws. Some key changes include enhanced mechanisms for participation of young people in decisions which affect their lives, improved support stability for young people in out-of-home-care, and the introduction of minimum standards for young people in detention.
Towards the end of 2008 the new youth detention centre, Bimberi, will open. Bimberi Youth Justice Centre is named after the highest peak in the ACT in recognition of the aspirational values informing its development. Bimberi is expected to be the first human-rights compliant facility of its type in Australia. The design of the centre integrates sustainable design and initiatives to provide enhanced amenities for young people whilst minimising environmental impacts and reducing energy consumption.
Central to the development of the youth justice centre are the following: encouraging children and young people to be accountable for offending behaviour whilst providing a supportive and understanding environment; providing supervision targeted at the needs of each child and young person; actively involving children and young people in innovative strength-based case management; and advocating for children and young people within the justice system.
The centre’s aim is to reduce the likelihood of reoffending through the provision of a range of therapeutic interventions and by sourcing vocational and educational opportunities for the young people. Importantly, the centre will continue to promote consistent and culturally sensitive service delivery and at all times operate in an accountable and transparent manner.
The education and training of young people in detention is a critical issue in relation to their life chances, including whether or not the young person reoffends. Reoffending is less likely when a young person is engaged in education, training and employment during and after detention. Therefore, it is important to reconnect young people with mainstream education and training or employment immediately on discharge from detention. I will have more to say about the subject of youth justice when I table the report on the inquiry into restorative justice principles as the chair of the Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People.
I would like to acknowledge the Australian government’s commitment to young people by the appointment of the federal Minister for Youth, the Hon Kate Ellis MP. The Hon Kate Ellis has made a commitment to ensure that youth throughout Australia have a real voice in the policies and programs that affect them. The Australian
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