Page 916 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011
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When we debated back in December the youth justice system and whether it should be inquired into, the minister said that, as a result of all the things that would happen, as of December—actually, as of the week that we spoke about this—there would be no more MSS security guards in Bimberi. And yet on 5 February somebody who was an MSS security guard nearly died—despite assurances to this place that there would be no more MSS security guards—and we are now seeing in this statement here today that the minister cannot tell us when MSS will be out of Bimberi. We hope it will be soon, maybe in a few weeks.
She actually had in the written statement that she circulated to me some words along the lines of: “Two MSS officers are currently on duty for night shifts. I am advised that management at Bimberi will phase out MSS night shift staff at the earliest possible opportunity.” These are the words that she did not use: “within a matter of weeks”. She did not use those words because she is too embarrassed by the fact that back in December she told us that they would be out of here by now, and now she cannot tell us when MSS will be out of Bimberi.
What we have here is a litany, an extensive litany, about improving standing, establishing a culture of learning. I was pleased to see, just before we get to establishing the culture of learning, that they have recruited a new woodwork teacher, a new metalwork teacher and a new art teacher. Isn’t it interesting, Madam Assistant Speaker, because it has been very careless of this minister and of Mr Barr to have recently lost a woodwork teacher and an art teacher who were committed to working for those people—a woodwork teacher who Minister Barr himself congratulated on the work that he did in looking after and being concerned about young people in detention. We have seen that man on television talk about how committed he was to those people—but he was shown the door. He was shown the door at Bimberi because he had the audacity to go and raise his concerns with the Bimberi inquiry.
Some of his concerns were the fact that there was no electricity tag checking on old machinery there and that they did not comply with occupational health and safety issues. This man is completely perplexed as to why he was shown the door and why someone who was so committed to and so concerned about the welfare of young people could be chewed up and spat out by this government. And the same today with the art teacher: “Gee, we’ve replaced an art teacher.” You had an art teacher. You had an art teacher out there who was passionate about the job that she did—but she was bullied out of the system. She was so bullied that she has now gone public because no-one would listen to her.
Mr Seselja: She has no faith in you.
MRS DUNNE: She has no faith in you, and I salute the woman for her courage in going public and putting her job on the line because she recognises that the young people that she was working for are more important than her job. I salute her and we salute her.
What we have seen here today is a failure of transparency. In fact, the recommendations that the minister outlines in this statement ask more questions than
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