Page 1023 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 30 March 2011

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(b) inadequate case conferencing for residents, their families and community sector organisations; and

(3) maintains its confidence in the Human Rights Commission inquiry as the best means of resolving the issues at the Bimberi Youth Justice Centre and improving the youth justice system; and

(4) calls on the Minister to:

(a) immediately ensure all staff are made aware of their mandatory reporting obligations;

(b) encourage all staff (both present and former) and members of the community to make full and frank contributions to the Bimberi inquiry; and

(c) take the strongest possible disciplinary action against anyone found to have attempted to in any way pervert the inquiry.”.

Once again, this is a robust inquiry. There are protections that are afforded people who participate that are not afforded to people under the Inquiries Act. The Inquiries Act compels people to participate against their will.

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10.58): The government believes that this inquiry is the most appropriate course of action to get to the bottom of what the problems are at the Bimberi youth detention facility. The government will not be supporting the amendment put forward by Ms Hunter today because we believe that this inquiry should be allowed to run its course.

The government is committed to a detailed examination by independent statutory office-holders as to the issues that are arising in relation to the management and the provision of services in our youth detention facility. That is why we supported the motion; that is why we were prepared to have an independent commission look at the conduct and the operations of our youth detention facilities—because we want to make sure that any problems are identified and that recommendations are made so that they can be fixed. That is Labor’s position.

We have heard from those opposite that the inquiry is inadequate, that people are not given appropriate protection and that people are allegedly being intimidated or prevented from providing information to that inquiry. There has been a range of allegations made, and the government believes that the best way for those issues to be addressed is through the inquiry process. But you would think that there is no protection afforded to those individuals under the human rights inquiry process.

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