Page 198 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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Mr Doszpot: Confidentially, of course. Their name will not be revealed.
MS HUNTER: Confidentially, of course, Mr Doszpot. In fact, they will be paid for that time. The Human Rights Commission will then go and invoice the department. There is absolutely no way that their identity will be passed on.
There are a number of ways that have been set up for staff to participate. I know that a lot of staff are participating, because at the end of the day there are many staff at Bimberi who are dedicated professionals. They want to see the best for these young people. This is another unfortunate thing about politicising and continuing on around this issue—the impact on staff and obviously, of course, the ripple effect and impact on young people.
As you know, we did broaden the inquiry. It originally had a justice staff focus. We the Greens felt that it was important to broaden it, because at the end of the day this is a closed community; we need to always be vigilant about any closed communities, prisons or jails, that we have here in the territory, to make sure that those who are incarcerated are not in any way being abused.
We did increase that inquiry; we extended that inquiry. That will pick up on a whole other range of staff issues. If we are to have a healthy, functioning juvenile justice system, youth justice system, in the territory, we are going to need a professional, supported workforce—one that has got the latest training, one that does not just take a lock-and-key approach, but is able to really be involved in a justice system which has a focus on rehabilitation, a focus on ensuring that there is not a rapid bus that runs from Bimberi across to the AMC when young people graduate, between the two. We do not want to see that happening. We want to see that Bimberi is a fantastic place for a positive intervention, a positive intervention that can be taken by staff. I know that there are many staff out there who are absolutely committed to playing their role in being able to provide that positive intervention.
Of course, if any of this is to happen, we really do need to make sure that staff are working in a safe environment, that staff are valued, that staff are provided with support and professional development, and so forth. We also need to make sure that this truly is a best practice detention institution for the young people who are incarcerated there.
On the matter of Mr Corbell’s amendment to this motion, which was around censuring Mrs Dunne, the Greens will not be supporting Mr Corbell’s amendment today. While I do share concerns expressed about the appropriateness of the allegations being made in Mrs Dunne’s motion, I am not satisfied that this is sufficient to warrant a censure by the Assembly. I have already expressed my views on Mrs Dunne’s conduct in my speech; I say again that I do not think she has handled the whole matter as appropriately as she could have.
Quite rightly, as members of this place, we enjoy absolute privilege over what we say. As noted in the continuing resolution of this place, this privilege also carries with it a significant responsibility to behave in a manner befitting the office we enjoy and
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